Free Software

by | Jan 18, 2007 | Uncategorized

Softwarefor.org has made a compilation download of free software for students. The software is for Windows and Mac operating systems. One of the most important pieces are Openoffice.org’s suite of office applications. These programs are very similar to Microsoft...

Fairness

by | Jan 17, 2007 | Uncategorized

A paper recently appeared in the December issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society, entitled “Better Ways to Cut a Cake.” Science News has an interesting review of this article describing how people can split cake. Here is an excerpt:a...

Health Guarantees and Risk Reduction

by | Jan 16, 2007 | Uncategorized

Christopher Wanjek, a writer for Livescience.com has an interesting article on risk reduction in health outcomes. Here is an excerpt:”Risks are established in health studies. For example, doctors will study thousands of patients with circulatory disease and look...

StatTalk Part 2

by | Jan 15, 2007 | Uncategorized

Earlier I wrote about a great Podcast from the UCLA Statistical Consulting Group. Unfortunately, they have not made any new podcasts in some time. I would like to urge a write-in campaign so that they know they are missed. You can write them at StatTalk@...

Grades, Performance, and Poop

by | Jan 13, 2007 | Uncategorized

Tim Harford write an excellent column for Slate.com (He also has a great book). In this column, he discusses how a person in charge of providing incentives determines what good performance is. In his example, he discusses determining his daughter’s performance...

Higher Oil Prices Making People Skinnier

by | Jan 11, 2007 | Uncategorized

The Freakonomics Blog has an interesting scientific question:”Will the High Price of Oil Make Americans Skinnier?Not because higher gas prices will spur people to walk or ride bicycles instead of driving. No, I’m thinking it might work like this: –...

Milk Decreasing the Benefits of Tea Use

by | Jan 10, 2007 | Uncategorized

Researchers have found that the addition of milk reduces the benefits of tea in an experiment. The researchers investigated the effect of blood flow in arteries using ultrasound. This measurement of artery functioning is thought to be related to long-term heart...

Things You Never Knew You Wanted

by | Jan 10, 2007 | Uncategorized

Gregg Easterbrook’s book, the Progress Paradox discusses how our living standards have improved greatly, but out levels of happiness have stayed the same. Many economists and psychologists are now trying to measure happiness and look at determinants of...