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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Afghan opium
One oft-forgotten aspect of the war in Afghanistan are the (futile?) efforts of NATO and the US Armed Forces to eradicate the supply of opium. What if, instead of trying to eradicate the supply of Afghan opium through military force or … Continue reading
Oprah’s handbag
Three Questions: #1 Is it ethical to manufacture, sell, or buy a product made from crocodiles? #2 Regardless of your answer to #1 above, was Oprah Winfrey the victim of racism or classism (or both) in the Swiss city of Zurich, … Continue reading
Bayesian baseball
If you are a baseball fan, you might know the batting average or on-base percentage (OBP) of your favorite player, such as Yasiel Puig or Dustin Pedroia (two of prior probability‘s favorite players). But do you know your favorite player’s “Run Production Average” or RPA? According to Mike … Continue reading
“Armed Cowards”
Police in Miami Beach used a taser to kill Israel Hernandez-Llach, a promising 18-year old artist. According to this report in the Times, the reaction of one citizen, Miguel Gonell, a 67-year-old Cuban exile, really says it all. He called the police “armed cowards” and compared … Continue reading
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Tagged Armed Cowards, Art, Israel Hernandez-Llach, Miami Beach, Police Repression, Taser
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Intro to Mathematical Philosophy
Calling all geeks: Professors Hannes Leitgeb and Stephan Hartmann, who teach at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, are now offering an eight-week course on “Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy” at Coursera. I have just completed the first two sets of … Continue reading
Pop Quiz #3
What fraction of players in Major League Baseball are cheating? (*) (a) Less than 10% (b) Between 10-50% (c) Between 50-90% (e) More than 90% (*) By “cheating” we mean the use of banned substances or performance-enhancing drugs. Postscript: This … Continue reading
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Tagged Cheating, Major League Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs
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Does anyone smell a rat?
Some communities have “neighborhood watches” to deter thieves and other criminals. So why don’t we organize a “Constitution Watch” to discourage violations of the Constitution? Some people, for example, think Edward Snowden is a criminal or public enemy for disclosing … Continue reading
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Tagged "Constitution Watch", Constitution, Edward Snowden, Neighborhood Watch, NSA, Rats, Warrantless Wiretapping
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Pop Quiz #2
What effect, on average, do traffic signal cameras have on safety? (a) Cameras have no effect on the rate of accidents. (b) Cameras decrease the rate of accidents. (c) Cameras increase the rate of accidents. The answer is here.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Hidden Tax, Law Enforcement, Red Light Cameras, Traffic Signals
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Suckers & con artists … a symbiosis
Check out this report in yesterday’s Economist about Andrew Gradon, a con man who swindles unsuspecting suckers Good Samaritans out of their money at various European airports. Of course, there would be fewer con artists if there were fewer suckers Good … Continue reading
