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Archive page 13 of 73

Aug 5, 2020

JSM Presentation on Ebola

This study reviews the 2018-2020 Ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebolavirus is a viral hemorrhagic fever principally transmitted via bodily fluids. The mortality rate among victims is approximately fifty…

May 31, 2020

The Lotka–Volterra Equations

My favorite set of differential equations are the Lotka-Volterra equations. These equations describe predator-prey relationships. What impresses me the most about them are their complete simplicity: $$ \begin{align} \frac{dx}{dt} &= \alpha x…

May 18, 2020

The Risk of Dying From COVID-19

One of the biggest problems facing the world right now is managing compliance with stay-at-home orders. In brief, we know there are people who are opening businesses, terrorizing government officials, and just…

May 1, 2020

Howard County Council Redistricting

Yesterday, the Charter Review Commission presented its final report to the County Council. We had our final meeting Tuesday morning, via video conference, and approved the report with minor changes. You can…

Apr 25, 2020

The Hongwu Emperor's Land Reforms

The most interesting aspect of the Ming Dynasty governance was its support for the lower classes. This was led by the first Ming ruler, Hongwu Emperor, who started the land reforms. Hongwu…

Apr 15, 2020

Ebolavirus Transmission at JSM2020

Back in December, I did a study on Ebolavirus transmission rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nothing special, but the DRC outbreak had been going on for just over a year…

Apr 12, 2020

Dimensionality Reduction Through SVD

Singular value decomposition (SVD) is something I found challenging when I took linear algebra as an undergraduate, decades ago. It's complicated. It's hard to calculate. And there's no reason for it, as…

Apr 11, 2020

Context of Chinese Syncretism

It's important to remember that when Buddhism entered China, it did not enter a vacuum. Like Japan, China already had widespread philosophical traditions. By the time Buddhism reached China, sometime during the…