Category: Uncategorized

Intelligence Squared is an odd name, but their debates often provide useful perspective.  It’s an odd contest, too: as much fun as it is to think about “who won”, there are also good reason to ignore the votes that determine…

Libertarianism and its discontents

Interesting thinking by Stephen Metcalf about liberty and Libertarians. Robert Nozick, father of libertarianism (Slate Magazine) Just as Nozick would have us tax every dollar as if it were earned by a seven-foot demigod, apologists for laissez-faire would have us treat…

Getting ready for the new term

Faculty Perspectives on the Election (Knowledge@Wharton) and What Now, Mr. President? This Wharton newsletter is often chock-full of interesting ideas and results.  I find Mark Pauly’s positions in the first item above most compelling—although I may be biased because he has coauthored papers on…

Humor on election day

Perspective, that’s what we need!  Here are two takes on maintaining it. Poll Addict Confesses (David Brooks, NYTimes) xkcd: Poll Watching (always hover to get the alt-text) Okay, I also want to get serious for a moment: In Defense of Nate Silver,…

Being ahead of the curve hurts

Remember when Bill Gates dismissed the Internet?  He thought AOL was the model: walled gardens.  Flash forward to “a battle of ecosystems”.  Sure, Bill was right, just a couple decades too early! Microsoft, An Empire Under Siege (All Tech Considered, NPR)…

Maps and models, maps are models

How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means for the Future of Everything (The Atlantic) It’s an interesting article, but too starry-eyed.  Here are my thoughts. Google Maps still has a long way to go to be as good as “the…