Tim Harford writes about Economics and has been involved with a BBC Radio show “More or Less” that presents/discusses/debunks statistics in the news. I probably picked this book up from a recommendation in Tyler Cowan’s blog. He presents 10 rules to keep in mind when presented with statistics, graphs, and charts in the news: Search… Read more »
An extensive biography of Euler, mathematician and theoretical physicist.
Very few memories… I attended Nesbitt School in Rosemount (K-6). Apparently, the school was built in 1911. Was a 40-year old school when I attended. A 3-story reddish brick block with little ‘architecture’ about it. The school was on 8th Avenue. We lived on 2nd Avenue. I walked to/from school on my own for a… Read more »
Background 1: I turn 71 this year. So my RRSP’s must be converted to RRIF’s before December 31. With the COVID-19 lockdowns ongoing, I have time to take care of these (boring but important) financial details. Background 2: My mother died in 2018. For several years, I helped her manage her money. Plus, I’ve been… Read more »
1957-1964: Elementary (grades K-7): Nesbitt School1964-1968: Secondary (grades 8-11): Rosemount High1968-1972: McGill University, B.Sc. in Honours Physics1972-1977: MIT, Ph.D. in Physics1977-1978: MIT “post-doc”
Why do this? The “Rationalist” community suggests making/tracking predictions (including a probability estimate) as a technique for understanding the world better. Example: Scott Alexander (2020 Predictions Calibration). Scott Adams also suggests it. He often discusses different “frames” for viewing the world. His argument is that certain frames predict better. They predict the “real” world better.… Read more »
I have met my 10,000 steps per day target for 400 days in a row! Background: When the COVID-19 “lockdowns” started in March/2020, I set a goal to do 10,000 steps per day. I did it for 400 days. Rain or shine, hot or cold, snow or no. Yes, it is a somewhat OCD.
I plan to live to 100. Uncle Mike did, so why can’t I?
I started programming Christmas vacation 1968. This was during my first year at McGill University, studying Physics. My cousin Ken was also at McGill, in engineering. At a Christmas get together, he told me there was a computer that students could use in engineering building. He offered to show me the ropes, and we met… Read more »
1981-1982. Highlight: First job using Unix and the C programming language.