Skip to content

Blog

Archive page 31 of 73

Apr 13, 2017

California Flood Insurance Hurts Everyone

California is considering adopting its own flood insurance scheme, according to this news report: ::embed{href="http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/03/30/california-flood-insurance-change/"} Apparently, California residents have paid more than $3B more into the program than those residents have received…

Apr 5, 2017

Nerd Nite Baltimore!

I'll be speaking at Nerd Nite Baltimore 8 on April 18th. My talk, "The Needs of the Many and the Needs of the Few," will explore ethics in Star Trek and how…

Mar 12, 2017

Gelman's Candy Weighing Demonstration

We did Andrew Gelman's candy weighing demonstration in class on Friday. This was the first time I've had a chance to teach sampling in some time and really wanted to do it.…

Mar 6, 2017

Syllabus for Intermediate Algebra

I am teaching intermediate algebra this spring and I wanted to post the syllabus and give a bit of a comment here. You can find the syllabus on my math education page.…

Mar 3, 2017

Data Science for Restaurant Inspections

At work, we just did a really neat set of predictive models for restaurant inspections. This is all based on the work Chicago did for the analysis. We kinda/sorta split into different…

Mar 1, 2017

Adam Gopnik Needs to Get Real

Adam Gopnik has a strange essay in The New Yorker , suggesting that the confluence of unusual events confirms the simulation hypothesis. Specifically, the results from the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and…

Feb 18, 2017

Textbook Pricing is Out of Control

It's an older story, but here's one on textbook prices and what we can do about it. The short version is that even your professor thinks the $300 price tag on a…

Feb 15, 2017

Say "Yes" to the Dress

One thing I am sure my students hate is that I don't give extra credit. I've talked about this before, and there is no reason to rehash them. But I do like…

Feb 4, 2017

Syllabus for Finite Mathematics

I don't usually post my math syllabi, but I have realized this is probably a bad habit. Or a good habit I don't have. Or something. Anyway, I've posted my syllabus for…

Feb 3, 2017

Regulatory Reduction and Benefit-Cost Analysis

In between terrorizing our allies at home and abroad, the new president has signed an executive order aiming for regulatory reform. Here's the important part: Sec. 2. Regulatory Cap for Fiscal Year…