numbers link archives: quicklinks home
Monday April 14, 2008
Friday April 11, 2008
Richer, healthier but not happier
After 30 years of unprecedented economic growth, the British are richer, healthier - but no happier than in 1973. ¶
Friday March 28, 2008
Mysterious discrepancies in grain prices baffle experts
Economists say there should not be two prices for one thing at the same place and time... ¶
Thursday December 20, 2007
Tuesday December 18, 2007
Federal Reserve shrugged as US subprime crisis spread
Alan Greenspan was first warned about sub-prime mortgage mis-selling in 2001. ¶
Friday November 16, 2007
Longer sentences not value for money says top judge
"If you decide to lock up one man for a minimum term of 30 years, you are investing £1m or more in punishing him" ¶
Monday November 12, 2007
Friday November 9, 2007
Getting the measure of a kilogram
What do you do when the international standard measurement of weight loses weight? ¶
Sunday October 7, 2007
Sunday September 16, 2007
Wednesday September 12, 2007
Tuesday August 7, 2007
‘Surveillance society’ warning on data sharing
Tesco shares Clubcard information with the Police, while Transport for London share travel data collected from Oyster cards. ¶
Tuesday July 17, 2007
Friday May 18, 2007
Virginia Tech Lesson: Rare Risks Breed Irrational Responses
People tend to base risk analysis more on personal story than on data, despite the old joke that "the plural of anecdote is not data"... We generally give stories more weight than statistics. We give storytellers we have a relationship with more credibility than strangers, and stories that are close to us more weight than stories from foreign lands. ¶
Wednesday January 24, 2007
Tuesday January 16, 2007
Thursday January 4, 2007
Untangling the mystery of the Inca khipu
An anthropologist and some mathematicians try and figure out the information encoded in the knotted khipu strings ¶
Wednesday January 3, 2007
What happens if you have too much information to understand what you're looking at?
Malcom Gladwell on Enron, intelligence, the differences between puzzles and mysteries, and the perils of having too much information ¶
Saturday December 16, 2006
OFT blasts government agencies for manipulating the market in public sector information
Data restrictions allegedly cost economy £500m: the Ordnance Survey comes in for particularly virulent criticism. ¶
Monday December 11, 2006
Sunday November 19, 2006
Monday October 30, 2006
Tuesday July 25, 2006
UK imports over 100,000 AK-47 rifles in just three months
Does make you realise just how big the arms trade really is... ¶
Monday June 12, 2006
Depressed men suffer in silence, says research
51 per cent of British men feel down, stressed, depressed or anxious at least once a month, while more than one in five (21 per cent) feel that way every day or a few times a week ¶
Sunday June 11, 2006
The Conservative Nanny State
How US conservatives rely on a range of “nanny state” policies that ensure the rich get richer while leaving most Americans worse off. ¶
Sunday June 4, 2006
We are not entirely human, germ gene experts argue
"There are some estimates that say 90 percent of the cells on our body are actually bacteria... We're entirely dependent on this microbial population for our well-being" ¶
Tuesday May 30, 2006
Friday May 26, 2006
The Rise of Crowdsourcing
How the work of crowds of amateurs threaten to reshape professional markets. ¶
How the work of crowds of amateurs threaten to reshape professional markets. ¶
Saturday May 20, 2006
Thursday May 18, 2006
Bedtime stories can help alleviate poverty, says study
Parental interest in education correlates with children's escape from poverty. ¶
Parental interest in education correlates with children's escape from poverty. ¶
Friday April 21, 2006
How tax credits helped create thousands of couples
Just because you're on benefit doesn't mean you can't do math. ¶
Just because you're on benefit doesn't mean you can't do math. ¶
Thursday April 20, 2006
Tuesday April 18, 2006
Monday April 3, 2006
Grups - The Ascendant Breed of Grown-Ups Who Are Redefining Adulthood
And apparently killing off the generation gap while they're at it... ¶
And apparently killing off the generation gap while they're at it... ¶
Sunday April 2, 2006
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Beautiful Evidence
Edward Tufte's new book is now at the printer and should be available in May 2006. ¶
Edward Tufte's new book is now at the printer and should be available in May 2006. ¶
Sunday March 19, 2006
Saturday March 18, 2006
The Historical Statistics of the United States, Millenial Edition [via rebecca's pocket]
The critical skill that's more required than formal statistics is more like literary criticism. You look at a number and don't say that's a fact. You want to say where did it come from, who generated it, why, is it consistent with what we would get from looking at other sources, does it make sense? What sort of insight can the quantitative record give to the qualitative one? - Professor Susan Carter, editor in chief ¶
The critical skill that's more required than formal statistics is more like literary criticism. You look at a number and don't say that's a fact. You want to say where did it come from, who generated it, why, is it consistent with what we would get from looking at other sources, does it make sense? What sort of insight can the quantitative record give to the qualitative one? - Professor Susan Carter, editor in chief ¶
Monday March 13, 2006
Oyster data use rises in crime clampdown
Police hunting criminals are increasingly seeking information from electronically stored travel records, such as those created by users of the Oyster card in London. ¶
Police hunting criminals are increasingly seeking information from electronically stored travel records, such as those created by users of the Oyster card in London. ¶
IRS May Let Tax Preparers Sell Customers' Information
What was that song, oh yes, "I'm proud to be an American, at least I know I'm free". Just like your data. ¶
What was that song, oh yes, "I'm proud to be an American, at least I know I'm free". Just like your data. ¶
Sunday January 29, 2006
3quarksdaily: The Economics of [doing] a Ph.D.
Perhaps not the most fiscally responsible thing to do... ¶
Perhaps not the most fiscally responsible thing to do... ¶
Tuesday January 24, 2006
More proof that sending ever increasing numbers of people to University is not the solution
"Twenty percent of U.S. college students completing 4-year degrees... have only basic quantitative literacy skills, meaning they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gasoline to get to the next gas station" ¶
"Twenty percent of U.S. college students completing 4-year degrees... have only basic quantitative literacy skills, meaning they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gasoline to get to the next gas station" ¶
Tuesday January 17, 2006
The links between wealth and philosophy
There's a strong correlation between the size of a US university's endowment fund and the reputation of its philosophy department. You can find more on the link between personal wealth and philosophy here. ¶
There's a strong correlation between the size of a US university's endowment fund and the reputation of its philosophy department. You can find more on the link between personal wealth and philosophy here. ¶
Wednesday January 11, 2006
1m pupils taught in struggling schools
English education system not quite the best in the world, apparently. ¶
English education system not quite the best in the world, apparently. ¶
Thursday January 5, 2006
Tuesday December 27, 2005
Friday December 23, 2005
US media bias is real, "finds" UCLA "political scientist"...
"A media person would have never done this study" says the study's author, in a grand bit of unintentional irony. ¶
"A media person would have never done this study" says the study's author, in a grand bit of unintentional irony. ¶
Saturday December 10, 2005
Multinationals, not farmers, reap biggest rewards in Britain's share of CAP payouts
Am I the only one who's not surprised by this?? ¶
Am I the only one who's not surprised by this?? ¶
The Price of Motherhood
"Ready to have a baby? You'll earn 10 percent more [over the course of your lifetime] if you wait a year." ¶
"Ready to have a baby? You'll earn 10 percent more [over the course of your lifetime] if you wait a year." ¶
Sunday October 30, 2005
Debt hits poorer students hardest, finds study
Particularly poor Scottish students, who don't even pay tuition fees. ¶
Particularly poor Scottish students, who don't even pay tuition fees. ¶
Friday October 21, 2005
Thursday October 20, 2005
There is no conflict between evolution and the notion that the universe was made by The Creator. It just means that the Old Testament is wrong and the Bhagavad Gita could be right. ¶
Monday October 17, 2005
Friday October 14, 2005
The re-proletarianization of the post-bourgeois workforce
Or, how once middle class jobs have become working class jobs again, with low pay, low benefits and poor pensions instead of high pay and good pensions. ¶
Or, how once middle class jobs have become working class jobs again, with low pay, low benefits and poor pensions instead of high pay and good pensions. ¶
Reporters: Lost in the 'Fog'?
"Fog facts are things that have been reported, somewhere, sometime, but have disappeared into the mist—like the pre-9/11 hints that there were hijackers in our midst. The fog facts can still be found by enterprising reporters, but with time and news space increasingly crunched—and media priorities shifting to the trivial—they usually remain obscure, at least to the general public." ¶
"Fog facts are things that have been reported, somewhere, sometime, but have disappeared into the mist—like the pre-9/11 hints that there were hijackers in our midst. The fog facts can still be found by enterprising reporters, but with time and news space increasingly crunched—and media priorities shifting to the trivial—they usually remain obscure, at least to the general public." ¶
Wednesday October 12, 2005
Have Recessions Absolutely, Positively Become Less Painful?
"Year to year, the economy is less volatile, but in some ways it has become more volatile month to month." ¶
"Year to year, the economy is less volatile, but in some ways it has become more volatile month to month." ¶
Young households 'cannot afford' first homes
Too poor to buy the cheapest local houses, but too rich to qualify for housing benefit. ¶
Too poor to buy the cheapest local houses, but too rich to qualify for housing benefit. ¶
Monday April 18, 2005
Kevin Kelly -- Recent Innovations in the Method
What would you say are the innovations in the scientific method of the last 50 years? What has changed the nature of science in practice in your lifetime? ¶
What would you say are the innovations in the scientific method of the last 50 years? What has changed the nature of science in practice in your lifetime? ¶
Saturday April 9, 2005
How not to design your nuclear waste storage site
"This is as good as it's going to get. If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff." ¶
"This is as good as it's going to get. If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff." ¶
