The one constant that I found about part-time business students is that they are wiped out by the end of their workdays and before the start of classes. Unfortunately, business classes tend to greatly increase the lethargy experienced by all but the most hardened business gurus-to-be. Last night’s brand management class was no exception.

Our professor did include some really interesting videos at the end of the class that at least brought me back to life. The first one was a scene from the movie, A Beautiful Mind. It was meant to be an introduction to a discussion on game theory, in general, and on understanding competition, in specific.

Hmmm… Maybe Adam Smith wouldn’t have a good understanding of this type of situation, but that doesn’t mean that John Nash has a good grasp on it either. Remember, he ends up spending all of his time being nuts and doing math. The problem with this application of Nash’s equilibrium is that the women in his example could choose not to go with any of the guys. They all could be lesbians. Maybe they’re into guys, just not these particular guys. Unfortunately, most guy’s egos (especially when beer-enhanced) won’t let them fathom these possibilities. Thus, began John Nash’s decent into insanity. Nash’s friend was at least right on one thing when he said you can lead a girl to water. You can also make her drink, but this will earn you some jail time.

Not a lot of people were feeling A Beautiful Mind. Howver, everyone was totally into the next clip. In it Stephen Colbert offered his thoughts on Cingular changing their name to AT&T.

I forget what the exact context of this video was, but it drew a lot of laughter and woke the remainder of the class up. I mean, who doesn’t love Stephen Colbert? If watching Comedy Central made people smarter, Colbert would be the answer to educators everywhere. Just string together a bunch of videos from The Colbert Report that are united by a singular topic. I’m sure somebody’s done a study on humor and intelligence. Anyway Colbert has my vote over Nash as an educator. He’s got nice insight and good delivery. Nash, not so much, although I’ll give him kudos for being kooky in a really smart way.

My boss posted a link this morning in an online teamroom. I bookmarked it for later perusal. Once I got some free time this evening, I went to the site and played to my heart’s content. It was a warning sign generator. Here are some of the favorite ones I created:

Tonight I was flipping through the channels when I came across “The Doc Block” on MSNBC. Usually I don’t watch The Doc Block because it’s really lame. I mean — really, how many documentaries can you watch about horrific crimes? This time was a bit different though, since they were playing one one Charles Manson talking to someone from prison. Now, don’t get me wrong — I don’t agree with anything Manson did. But there’s something kind of interesting, kind of ultimate, kind of real about Manson and the expression of his type of evil. If you wanted to know what the Devil looked like in the flesh, look no further than Charles Manson. It’s really kind of funny that kids regard him in the almost mystical way that Che Guevarra is worshiped. I mean, both were murderers and human rights violators. I always thought that if Bush was a little cooler, maybe his face would blazon teen outcast’s shirts, bookbags, and CD jewel cases instead of Che’s.

My favorite part of Manson’s talk was about righteousness and judgment. He claimed that he never killed anyone. It was entrancing to the point that I started finding myself drawn along by his familiar down-home accent and excited speaking style. Why was it so familiar? Suddenly, it hit me, then I went to YouTube to see if anyone had the same idea that I had. Someone did, though, using Manson’s voice over a different set of video.