We are better at statistics than we normally get credit for. Greater statistical literacy is still important, since more data is being used to persuade, but our overall understanding has gotten better. One example of this improvement is that most people reading analysis will know that the arithmetic mean can be shifted by excessively large … Continue reading Saving the mean
Category: Life
In Praise of Inefficient Searching
When things really matter, we would be better off using less efficient searches. Being able to find a website that confirms you're right in an internet argument is all well and good, but this is trivia. When knowledge is important, minor inconveniences come into their own and wind up giving us a broader perspective than … Continue reading In Praise of Inefficient Searching
Learning to Read Again
I think I count as a reader but sometimes it is difficult to tell. One frustration is that I spend a lot of time reading non-fiction now, but I read fiction when I was younger and first fell in love with reading. One complication is that non-fiction is terribly interesting while also being easier to … Continue reading Learning to Read Again
Is the Man in the Arena stupid? (after reading two essays)
A senior manager at work recommended The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo Cipolla (economic historian at Berkley). Anyone familiar with a certain type of office already knows the punchline: the higher the position, the more likely the book is misconstrued as an instruction manual. Cipolla's essay is amusing and there is some benefit … Continue reading Is the Man in the Arena stupid? (after reading two essays)
After Reading Nothing But The Truth
The Toronto School Board rejected a girl's book club event, including a speaking engagement, for Marie Henein's memoir due to a case she was the defence lawyer for in 2016. That case, along with all of the other high profile cases Henein has been involved in do not appear in the memoir, though her concern … Continue reading After Reading Nothing But The Truth
Untimely meditations on a mania
Gamestop's market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of shares, a measure of valuation for the company) exceeded $22 billion by the end of this week, up from the quarter of a billion it was valued at the same time last year. This $22 billion valuation is greater than the market capitalization of Kellogg's, the … Continue reading Untimely meditations on a mania
Store Wars: Imperfect views of imperfect markets
Economics has something of an edge when it comes to respectability among the social sciences, but it is often squandered by talking heads acting like everyone else is an idiot on TV. The benefit of taking an introductory economics class is not prestige or a set of talking points but rather a set of tools … Continue reading Store Wars: Imperfect views of imperfect markets
The Networks of Cultist Simulator
Cultist Simulator reveals its world through fragments and its lore is discovered by considering these fragments in relation to each other. The game's Discord server has an active community that discusses the lore of the world (now known as the Secret Histories), and there is plenty of room for interpretation about what is going on. … Continue reading The Networks of Cultist Simulator
Epic’s Tactics Are The System Working As Intended
The most perplexing feature of the commentary surrounding the Epic Games Store (EGS) is that the loudest voices assign criticism to Epic that is more appropriately targeted at Valve. The criticism that has gotten the most attention is the one that says Epic is using its timed exclusives in order to take over digital distribution, … Continue reading Epic’s Tactics Are The System Working As Intended
On “Where do you get your ideas from?”
If you would ever like to divest yourself of hero worship for creative types, look at their responses to the question "Where do you get your ideas from?" This cure is a little stale now as somewhere along the way somebody must have realized how insufferable they sounded and there are now thoughtful answers to … Continue reading On “Where do you get your ideas from?”