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The most dangerous road in the world
According to this report in the Sunday Times, it’s Highway 1 in Afghanistan. Here is an excerpt from the Times’ report: After spending billions of dollars upgrading and repaving Highway 1, the [US-led] military coalition is now leaving its protection … Continue reading
What is the optimal speed limit on toll roads?
Is it 80 mph? 90? 100? You tell me …
More evidence that Facebook is lame
Facebook is introducing more choices for gender identification — 56 choices in all (is that too many choices … or too few?) — but after all is said and done, there is still only one level of “friend” …
A map of the largest moon in our solar system
Adam Clarke Estes has posted on Gizmodo this interactive map of Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons, which also happens to be the largest moon in our corner of the universe. Ganymede is an extra special Jovian satellite because it has an underground ocean … Continue reading
“What if we got rid of likes?”
That is the title of this provocative essay by PJ Vogt. Even WordPress, the sponsor of this blog, has a like button (see below). But “likes” are lame, right? So, why don’t we get rid of them? Here’s why, according to … Continue reading
Pascal’s Wager 101
Did you know that Blaise Pascal’s most important contribution to the theory of probability is the notion of expectation value? Briefly, the expected value of any given wager is the value of the prize multiplied by the probability of winning … Continue reading
Trust and collaboration
Why do most elite colleges and institutions of higher learning (including law schools) resort to proctors and complex rules to prevent cheating on exams? Why don’t we trust our students to do the right thing, like they do at Caltech? … Continue reading
A quick study in cultural contrasts: Berkeley and Stanford in the 1960s
prior probability recently stumbled upon this perceptive quote by Stewart Brand, editor of the “Whole Earth Catalog”, comparing and contrasting the “power to the people” culture at Berkeley in the late 1960s with the more entrepreneurial, start-up culture at Stanford … Continue reading
What is the optimal population frequency?
According to this reputable source, every day on Earth an estimated 371,124 people are born and 154,995 people die. The amazing mathematics website Wolfram|Alpha converts these raw numbers into a hertz frequency as follows: As Jason Kottke writes in his excellent blog kottke.org, one of … Continue reading
The physics of billiards
Jim Belk, a mathematician at Bard College, has figured out what a perfectly centered billiards break looks like. It looks like this: Does this beautiful model of billiards breaks have any wider applications outside of pool tables? Tell me in the … Continue reading
