Author's posts
Mar 07 2008
What are you reading?
Once again the usual list – I’ve been busy with my non-Kos life….
If you like to trade books, try BookMooch.
cfk has bookflurries on Weds. nights
pico has literature for kossacks on Tues. nights, but it’s on hiatus
What are you reading? is crossposted to docudharma
If you have ideas for future weeks, let me know (one idea from last week is Fiction vs. nonfiction, but not this week….
Statistical models: Theory and practice by David Freedman. Delves into the details of models, without getting overly mathematical.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Impressive (as is the subject)
The Art of Mathematics by Bela Belobas. Interesting, easily stated math problems. For slow solving.
Biplots by Gower and Hand. Fascinating multivariate technique. An upcoming diary (maybe Sunday) will feature them.
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. In 1854, London suffered an epidemic of cholera, and thousands of people died – often in a few hours or days. This is the story of that epidemic and of John Snow, who figured out what was causing it. But it’s more – it’s not just the story of what happened, but how it happened and why. Fascinating.
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson I’m reading this, for the third time. One hell of a read. War, sex, love, codes, math, treasure hunting, business…. Stephenson has a lot to say, and he says it very well.
Mar 04 2008
Math mania
My diary yesterday was a hit…. so….
here’s another from long ago on dailyKos. It started a little series. Maybe it will, here, too.
In other diaries and comments I’ve written, I’ve alluded to the fact that math is beautiful. That it’s not the boring, stultifying stuff many of us were forced to endure, but rather a kind of artwork, akin more to music and poetry than to accounting or physics. In this (possible) occasional series, I’ll explore some elementary theorems that are nonetheless, beautiful, interesting, or just cool.
This is an introduction to the series
So, what is this nut talking about now?
Well, what mathematicians do all day is prove theorems. The most prolific mathametican of the 20th century (Paul Erdos – for a delightful bio of him, see The Man Who Loved Only Numbers) said ‘a mathematician is a tool for turning coffee into theorems’.
A lot of these theorems are so abstract that only a dozen or two people in the world can understand them. But many are accessible to people with only HS math. Those are the ones I want to talk about in this series
Bertrand Russell, a mathematician, philosopher, radical and general smart guy (and one of the few people to actively protest both WW 1 and Vietnam), said “Math is the only subject in which we never know what we are talking about, or whether what we are saying is true”. Hmmmm……that doesn’t sound like the math I learned in high school
I welcome thoughts, ideas, or what-have-you. If anyone would like to write a diary in this series, that’s cool too. Just ask me. Or if you want to co-write with me, that’s fine.
The rules: Any math that is required beyond arithmetic and very elementary algebra will be explained. Anything much beyond that will be VERY CAREFULLY EXPLAINED.
Anyone can feel free to help me explain, but NO TALKING DOWN TO PEOPLE. I’ll troll rate anything insulting, but I promise to be generous with the mojo otherwise.
Mar 03 2008
The joy of participatory learning
(from dkos, long ago)
What if kids loved to learn?
What if at the end of class, they wanted it to be longer, and kept the teacher in the hallway answering questions?
What if they learned that coupling their imaginations to their powers of reasoning would give them a tool of awesome power for exploring the cosmos?
What if an 11 year old got so excited by his insights that he yelled out
OH WOW! I get this now!
What if all this happened in math class?
Mar 02 2008
Congressional races round 2: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas
Here’s part seven of the second round of congressional races. Earlier parts are here
Indiana has 9 representatives: 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans
Filing deadline was Feb 22, primary is May 6
Iowa has 5 representatives: 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans
Filing deadline is March 14, primary is June 3
Kansas has 4 representatives: 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans
Filing deadline is June 10, primary is August 5
Feb 29 2008
What are you reading?
The regular list
If you like to trade books, try BookMooch.
cfk has bookflurries on Weds. nights
What are you reading? is crossposted to dailyKos
If you have ideas for future weeks, let me know (one idea from last week is Fiction vs. nonfiction, but not this week, as I will not be here to tend this much today)
I haven’t been doing that much reading, I’ve been busy with my series on Congress
Statistical models: Theory and practice by David Freedman. Delves into the details of models, without getting overly mathematical.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Impressive (as is the subject)
The Art of Mathematics by Bela Belobas. Interesting, easily stated math problems. For slow solving.
Biplots by Gower and Hand. Fascinating multivariate technique. An upcoming diary (maybe Sunday) will feature them.
Araminta Station by Jack Vance. Just started it, not sure if I will like it
Feb 27 2008
Congressional races round 2: Illinois
Feb 25 2008
Congressional races round 2: Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho
Here’s part five of the second round of congressional races. Earlier parts are here
Georgia has 13 representatives: 7 Republicans and 6 Democrats
Filing deadline May 2, primary July 15
Note that GA districts changed in 2005 due to Republican redistricting.
Hawaii has 2 representatives, both Democrats
Filing deadline July 22, primary Sept 20
Idaho has 2 representatives, both Republicans
Filing deadline March 21, primary May 27
Feb 24 2008
What if we valued joy?
What if we valued joy?
We easily put values on our material possessions, and we want more. More and more and more. More stuff. Why do so many of us (and, by ‘us’, I mean Americans and westerners in general) want so much stuff? Why do some families have more cars than adults? Can you drive two cars at once? Why do we throw out so much stuff, to replace it with more stuff, when the old stuff was perfectly good?
Do you need a new cell phone? A new car? A bigger house? Fancier clothes?
How does a fashion label help keep you warm?
There is a quotation (I can’t find the source)
To be content with little is difficult, to be content with much impossible
But why?
For one thing, many of us want what the other person has. We want to ‘keep up with the Jones’. Yet, we do not ask if the Jones are happy, if they are joyful, or if they are only busy keeping up with some other family…..
Relax. You will never, not ever, have as much as Bill Gates. Do you need it?
If you value your life by your possessions, by your net worth, then you will never be number one.
Near the beginning of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, he writes that most schemes for the promotion of human happiness involved the movement of small green pieces of paper….he finds this odd because it was not the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
Feb 24 2008
Congressional races round 2: Florida
Here’s part four of the second round of congressional races. Earlier parts are here
Florida has 25 representatives: 16 Republicans and 9 Democrats
Filing deadline is May 2, primary is Aug 26
Of the 22 districts with more than 17% veterans, 12 are in Florida; I think this makes Florida an excellent pickup ground – the veterans, traditionally a very solidly Republican group – are tired of the war and tired of being abused by the powers that be. Remember – Democrats support the troops, Republicans support the war
Feb 22 2008
What are you reading?
The regular list
If you like to trade books, try BookMooch.
cfk has bookflurries on Weds. nights
pico has literature for kossacks on Tues. nights, but it’s on hiatus
What are you reading? is crossposted to docudharma
If you have ideas for future weeks, let me know
I haven’t been doing that much reading, I’ve been busy with my series on Congress
Statistical models: Theory and practice by David Freedman. Delves into the details of models, without getting overly mathematical.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Impressive (as is the subject)
The Art of Mathematics by Bela Belobas. Interesting, easily stated math problems. For slow solving.
Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon. This is apparently the second in a series. I missed the first, but this one is good old-fashioned SF
Feb 21 2008
Congressional races round 2: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware
Here’s part three of the second round of congressional races. Earlier parts are here
Colorado has 7 representatives: 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans. Filing deadline May 29, primary August 12
Connecticut has 5 representative, 4 Democrats and 1 Republican. Filing deadline May 3, primary August 12
Delaware has 1 representative, a Republican. Filing deadline July 25, primary Sept 9