Creative Commons
Blogs I Follow
Category Archives: Mathematics
“Same stats, different graphs”
Do you know what “stimulated annealing” is? If not, then check out this cool project by Justin Matejka and George Fitzmaurice. The full title of their excellent work is “Same Stats, Different Graphs: Generating Datasets with Varied Appearance and Identical … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Questions Rarely Asked
Leave a comment
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
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
4 Comments
The Mathematics of the Twelve Days of Christmas
Check out this fun blog post by math wizard Ben Orlin, who calculates the total number of gifts in “The 12 Days of Christmas.” In the words of Mr Orlin, “The song invited a lot of questions, but one in particular leapt out … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Mathematics
1 Comment
Presidential Meta-Poll (updated)
1. Will the results of this year’s presidential election confirm or disprove the median voter theorem? 2. Further questions: (a) How do we determine who the “median voter” is in the real world, and along which policy dimension do we … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Economics, Mathematics, Politics
6 Comments
Conway’s Cosmogram
More math art here, by Bronna A. Butler. (Hat tip: Cliff Pickover.)
Posted in Art, Mathematics
1 Comment
Visualization of the most and least talkative Simpsons characters
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Mathematics
6 Comments
Two questions about degrees of belief
Previously, we saw how the Bayesian notion of “degrees of belief” offers a possible solution to the preface paradox. Here, we shall consider some philosophical or epistemic objections to this idea of “degrees of belief.” In his thought-provoking and beautiful … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Mathematics, Philosophy, Uncategorized
3 Comments
prior probability 