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Category Archives: Culture
May reading list
Does reading make you a better person. Probably not! But reading is a great way to expand your horizons. So, now that the spring semester is almost over, this is what we will be reading during the month of May: … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Culture, History, Law
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Little Data
You may already be familiar with the term Big Data, datasets that are so gigantic that special computational methods are required to analyze them. But how about some “little data” for your pleasure? The frequency analysis pictured above, for example, … Continue reading
An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg
Dear Mark, Like the Bob Marley song of yore, we continue to wait in vain for Facebook to introduce a “dislike” button. Although it’s your website, it’s very patronizing that you refuse to give us this choice. Nevertheless, instead of endlessly debating … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Web/Tech
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Sara Berman’s closet
Among other things, the Metropolitan Museum of Art features 21 period rooms in its American Wing, ranging from a 17th-century colonial interior to an enormous Prairie-style living room by Frank Lloyd Wright, but as Penelope Green reports, “the newest addition … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Culture
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Ancient probability
Although modern probability theory dates to the 1600s, our ancestors have been playing games of chance for a very long time. Via the amazing Cliff Pickover, for example, check out this ancient die (circa 2500 B.C.) from the Indus Valley Civilization. (Photo Credit: … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Games, History, Probability
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Close to zero
As we approach the end of the winter season, what are the chances of finding two identical snowflakes? According to physicist Jon Nelson (via Popular Mechanics), the chances are “essentially zero.” Or, to be more mathematically precise, the chances are one … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Mathematics, Probability, Science
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Social network playlist (part 1)
If you have been following this blog, then you know that we have been using the movie “The Social Network” (and the book “Accidental Billionaires” on which the film is based) to teach our business law course. What you may … Continue reading
Square-Mile Street Network Visualization Project
As part of his PhD dissertation in urban planning, Geoff Boeing has developed a computer program that visualizes one-square mile of the road network of any major city in the world. (Check out his cool website here.) By way of … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Culture, History, Maps
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Black History Data Visualization
In honor of Black History Month, we are reposting this hand-drawn visualization of demographic data created by W. E. B. Du Bois in the year 1900. You can find more such turn-of-the-century data visualizations here. (Hat tip: digg.)
Posted in Culture, Economics, History, Science
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prior probability 