This NYTimes article basically describes what I do, and what I find to be the most important area of technology today. I don't like the name "statistician" because of the very specific ideas that this conjurs up in people's minds. As the article says, the "new breed" of statisticians are actually computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians... but "new breed" are really the operative words. That is definitely what we are.
Quoting:
"The new breed of statisticians tackle that problem. They use powerful computers and sophisticated mathematical models to hunt for meaningful patterns and insights in vast troves of data. The applications are as diverse as improving Internet search and online advertising, culling gene sequencing information for cancer research and analyzing sensor and location data to optimize the handling of food shipments.
"Even the recently ended Netflix contest, which offered $1 million to anyone who could significantly improve the company’s movie recommendation system, was a battle waged with the weapons of modern statistics.
"Though at the fore, statisticians are only a small part of an army of experts using modern statistical techniques for data analysis. Computing and numerical skills, experts say, matter far more than degrees. So the new data sleuths come from backgrounds like economics, computer science and mathematics."
07 August 2009
Denial of Service
"Denial of Service." This is a term we should all become familiar with. It sounds like a pretty harmless thing, but it's the term technologists use to describe very serious attacks on internet infrastructure that have potential to seriously disrupt commerce, government, and crisis communication infrastructure.
A denial of service attack is what silenced twitter on Thursday, August 6. The attack on Estonia in April of 2007 was also a denial of service attack.
The WSJ had a good opinion piece about the state of these online attacks. Quoting: "As the attacks against Estonia show, the task cannot be delayed -- the increasing sophistication and accessibility of malware means these problems will only become worse. The future of the Web is at stake."
A denial of service attack is what silenced twitter on Thursday, August 6. The attack on Estonia in April of 2007 was also a denial of service attack.
The WSJ had a good opinion piece about the state of these online attacks. Quoting: "As the attacks against Estonia show, the task cannot be delayed -- the increasing sophistication and accessibility of malware means these problems will only become worse. The future of the Web is at stake."
28 July 2009
09 July 2009
Stochasticity
On my long trip to Yellowstone last weekend, I took some time to catch up on Radiolab podcasts. This one about Stochasticity starts with a story of two ten-year-old girls with the same exact name who just happened to be on either end of an experiment-- one Laura Buxton released a balloon with her name and address, and the other Laura Buxton, 150 miles away and in the country side, was on the receiving end of that balloon.
The girls even looked the same, they both dressed in pink jumpers and jeans the first time they met, and they both had labradors, rabbits and guinea pigs!!!
What are the chances???
Well I wish I could tell you... but you should listen to the podcast to find out.
The girls even looked the same, they both dressed in pink jumpers and jeans the first time they met, and they both had labradors, rabbits and guinea pigs!!!
What are the chances???
Well I wish I could tell you... but you should listen to the podcast to find out.
19 April 2009
e to the i 2 pi
This xkcd reminds me of an old story. Kyle and I were at Sequoia Natl park, hiking through the trees and discussing science, math, and other sundries. At some point I said something which ended with the justification, "because e to the i 2 pi is one," and he almost laughed at me. Come on!
But when you use euler's formula, well, it's right there. So easy.
I love that.
So I justified it to Kyle on a little scrap of paper in my pocket... and for the rest of the afternoon we would shout it every once in awhile to the skies-- e to the i 2 pi is ONE!!!
Yep.
But when you use euler's formula, well, it's right there. So easy.
I love that.
So I justified it to Kyle on a little scrap of paper in my pocket... and for the rest of the afternoon we would shout it every once in awhile to the skies-- e to the i 2 pi is ONE!!!
Yep.
09 April 2009
Project 2061
Today while my simulations were running, I skimmed through a book called "Science for All Americans." I have had it checked out for a few months, but finally I wasn't allowed to renew it anymore :) So this book is a report from a government group called Project 2061, tasked to improve the science, math, and technology curriculum.
I think the report made some very good points that (1) (quoting the text) "The present science textbooks and methods of instruction, far from helping, often actually impede progress toward scientific literacy. They emphasize the learning of answers more than the exploration of questions, memory at the expense of critical thought, bits and pieces of information instead of understandings in context, recitation over argument, reading in lieu of doing. They fail to encourage students to work together, to share ideas and information freely with each other, or to use modern instruments to extend their intellectual capacities."; (2) We try to cram too many things in our K-12 science and math curriculum, instead of teaching the very important things thoroughly; and so (3) We should really refocus from tabula rasa and try to design a math and science curriculum that emphasizes the very most important concepts while instilling skills and attitudes of scientists into the students.
Some of the concepts they said should be emphasized in "The Nature of Science" were good:
The world is understandable.
Scientific knowledge is durable.
Science demands evidence.
Science explains and predicts.
Scientists try to identify and avoid bias.
Science is not authoritarian.
Interestingly, in the chapter on mathematical skills which should be emphasized, four out of seven were concepts I use every day:
- Uncertainty
- Summarizing data
- Sampling
- Reasoning
I think the report made some very good points that (1) (quoting the text) "The present science textbooks and methods of instruction, far from helping, often actually impede progress toward scientific literacy. They emphasize the learning of answers more than the exploration of questions, memory at the expense of critical thought, bits and pieces of information instead of understandings in context, recitation over argument, reading in lieu of doing. They fail to encourage students to work together, to share ideas and information freely with each other, or to use modern instruments to extend their intellectual capacities."; (2) We try to cram too many things in our K-12 science and math curriculum, instead of teaching the very important things thoroughly; and so (3) We should really refocus from tabula rasa and try to design a math and science curriculum that emphasizes the very most important concepts while instilling skills and attitudes of scientists into the students.
Some of the concepts they said should be emphasized in "The Nature of Science" were good:
The world is understandable.
Scientific knowledge is durable.
Science demands evidence.
Science explains and predicts.
Scientists try to identify and avoid bias.
Science is not authoritarian.
Interestingly, in the chapter on mathematical skills which should be emphasized, four out of seven were concepts I use every day:
- Uncertainty
- Summarizing data
- Sampling
- Reasoning
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