Creative Commons
Blogs I Follow
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Are you a square or a sharp?
Check out this report in the Sunday Times about sports gambling. Here is one tantalizing excerpt: In the world of sports gambling, there are two types of people: squares and sharps. Squares make bets based on hunches, hometown favoritism, emotion. Nearly … Continue reading
TSA takings
Jason Edward Harrington, a former TSA agent in Chicago, has written a scathing critique of the TSA, perhaps the most despised and bloated government bureaucracy since the Soviet era. Here is an excerpt: Once, in 2008, I had to confiscate a bottle … Continue reading
What does the ideal airline boarding pass look like?
According to Pete Smart, who gave this simple question some sustained thought during a nine-hour layover one day, it looks like this:
Thursday Paradox
This ancient paradox, which is brought to us courtesy of Esther Inglis-Arkell at io9.com, involves two different-sized wheels, one inside another. The two wheels travel in sync over a certain distance as in this animation below: But should the smaller … Continue reading
Legal systems of the world
Wikimedia Commons — click to enlarge.
What is the probability of going pro?
Check out this interactive website at visual.ly which calculates the odds that any given high school athlete will go on to play sports in college or in a professional sports league. Here is a sample:
The Malboro Man has died
Fox News is reporting that Eric Lawson, an actor who portrayed the Malboro Man in cigarette ads, has died from smoking-related diseases. He was 72.
A modest (NFL) proposal
Last week, the commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, proposed an interesting idea–abolishing the extra point after a touchdown. (As an aside, check out Aaron Gordon’s excellent behavioral analysis of this proposal.) But if we’re going to reform the rules … Continue reading
A relationship in 300 seconds
Are you currently “in a relationship”? If so, what minute or second are you in?
What’s wrong with this map?
That is, what’s wrong with an “upside down” or reverse map of the world? After all, there is no up or down from outer space.
