Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Why Memes Are Stupid: The Short Version
In 1976, in his The Selfish Gene, a book which revealed that most of us are slaves to our genes, biologist Richard Dawkins "discovered" the meme which, in one definition,…
Posted inStatistics
Planet Earth Al Gore Explains ‘Snowmageddon’: Fox News Story
I was quoted by Gene Koprowski in his Fox News story "Planet Earth Al Gore Explains 'Snowmageddon'". (This accounted for the several hundred Google and other search engine redirects to…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
Martin Gardner, Philosophical Scrivener, RIP
All regular readers will surely know Martin Gardner, writer, philosopher, mathematician, magician, exposer of flim flam. He died Saturday night; according to long-time friend and magician James Randi, peacefully. For…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
You Too Can Be A Genius After 10,000 Hours
No, you cannot. That title is a lie, and, judging by a recent spate of books on the subject, a popular one. Ann Hulbert of Slate has compiled a list…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Confidence Intervals, Logic, Induction
Induction "Because all the many flames observed before have been hot is a good reason to believe this flame will be hot" is an example of an inductive argument, and…
Posted inBook review
Real Education by Charles Murray
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality by Charles Murray Recommendation: read (buy here). The word median is statistical: it is the point at which…
Posted inBook review Culture
10 Books To Read Before You Die
G.K. Chesterton was asked what book would he most like to have with him on a desert island. Slick as ever, he said, Thomas's Guide to Practical Shipbuilding. And then…
Taking stock in the track: horse races and brokerages
This column was inspired by an interview I did with sports reporter Mark McGuire at the Albany Times Union. His story, in anticipation of the Saratoga races, can be found…