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What it means to everyone else: The next big feature on an iPhone.
What it means to econ majors: Optimal.
2. Sunk costs
What it means to everyone else: The price of getting to wreckage at the bottom of the ocean.
What it means to econ majors: Information that shouldn’t impact your next decision.
3. Normal distribution
What it means to everyone else: When professors decide to grade on a curve.
What it means to econ majors: A bad assumption.
4. Producers’ surplus
What it means to everyone else: What farmers sell at a farmers’ market.
What it means to econ majors: There’s a market here.
5. Risk
What it means to everyone else: A game for nerds.
What it means to econ majors: An awesome game for nerds and something to hedge against.
6. Indifference curve
What it means to everyone else: The choice between Christina Aguilera and Brittney Spears.
What it means to econ majors: Optimizing the correct amount of Christina Aguilera and Brittney Spears to maximize happiness.
7. Oligopoly
What it means to everyone else: Something they learned in history class.
What it means to econ majors: The reason oil prices are far too high.
8. Shutdown price
What it means to everyone else: The winning bid on Ebay.
What it means to econ majors: A price so low no firm can operate.
9. Microeconomics
What it means to everyone else: Really small financing.
What it means to econ majors: Understanding why individuals make the choices they do.
10. Marginal utility
What it means to everyone else: How much the electric bill costs next month.
What it means to econ majors: homo economicus
11. Present value
What it means to everyone else: Finding out how much your family loves you on your birthday.
What it means to econ majors: Properly understanding the value of a dollar today vs a dollar tomorrow.
12. Error term
What it means to everyone else: What they got wrong on their term paper.
What it means to econ majors: + e
13. Natural log
What it means to everyone else: Fuel for the camp fire.
What it means to econ majors: The percentage change.
14. Multivariable function
What it means to everyone else: Deciding what to do this weekend.
What it means to econ majors: The way econometrics describes everything.
15. Elasticity
What it means to everyone else: Stretchy yoga pants.
What it means to econ majors: Why the over crowded restaurant should raise prices.
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16. Fixed Costs
What it means to everyone else: Next months rent.
What it means to econ majors: Don’t contribute to marginal cost.
17. Expected value
What it means to everyone else: The price of gasoline going up.
What it means to econ majors: Why you know to never play the lottery.
18. Deadweight Loss
What it means to everyone else: The result of diet and exercise.
What it means to econ majors: Why you should only ever give someone money for a present.
19. Point of diminishing returns
What it means to everyone else: The 5th beer.
What it means to econ majors: The 5th beer.
20. Z score
What it means to everyone else: Over 5000!
What it means to econ majors: Getting published.
21. Bayesian probability
What it means to everyone else: You misspelled BeyoncÄĹ .
What it means to econ majors: How new information shapes your previous assumptions.
22. Economics
What it means to everyone else: Boring.
What it means to econ majors: Understanding how people make choices under constraints.
23. Monopoly
What it means to everyone else: The worst board game ever made.
What it means to econ majors: $$$.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
