When I shared the previous effort, Doubly-Damned Lies, there were objections … predictably. I was given the example of homelessness in the Bahamas, as the result of the recent hurricane. The claim was implicitly made that statistics would somehow make a factual situation better, that facts organized into appropriate knowledge would indicate a bright line along the path which should be taken. But, is there a statistical, one-size-fits-all? Why not let the facts speak directly to each case at hand?
Author: Kilgore Forelle
Doubly-Damned Lies
Edward Tufte, a master statistician, said, “It is straightforward for me to be ethical, responsible, and kind-hearted because I have the resources to support that.” But it takes more, because too often, too many people with resources choose exploitation, irresponsibility, and mean-spiritedness to gain more resources, pointedly those of power.
Erratic Behavior
Isn’t it odd when someone known for erratic behavior erratically does something with which an observer agrees, suddenly that erratic behavior becomes the mark of “stable genius?” On the other hand, the action becomes betrayal. Check out Senator Lindsey Graham, for instance.
Free Daniel McAdams
It seems like a trivial thing, Daniel McAdams’ getting banned, for life, from Twitter for using “retarded” in language attempting to describe Sean Hannity. But it is more than a ripple on the pond.
Do the Math
Have you come to the conclusion that we, the people, are innumerate? If not, how do you account for the fantasy of voting or the illusion of government education? One of the major goals of government schooling is the cultivation and advancement of innumeracy. Another major goal, of course, is illiteracy.
The Evil of Two Lessers
Here we are, more than 13 months from the next POTUS election, and the oligarchs have already limited our choices to zero. The incumbent is an incompetent, crazed liar, and the challenger field has reduced itself to three incompetent, crazed liars.
Mismeasurement
Science is fine, but logic is better. Ayn Rand often challenged, “check your premises!” (And if one automatically tunes out whenever the name, Ayn Rand, is mentioned, one needs to check one’s premises.) A bad premise should, logically, go into the round file, because you cannot do science on the absurd. Garbage in, garbage out.
Hidden Agenda
This is a book report on “The Fifth Risk” by Michael Lewis. A very good friend, but a liberal intervener, recommended the book to me, and I’m sure that she recommended it because its main theme is that the current White House is grossly negligent. But I got a far different message from the book.
Voting, a Grand Delusion
How many times have you heard the demonstrable falsehood, if you don’t like Politician X, then vote her/him out of office — or the inane, vote for the lesser of two evils? Voting, or not voting, is actually the least you can do.
Is Rad a Word?
Today I was with a group that was in danger of reaching consensus on the idea that our language was deteriorating, and the blame lay primarily with youth. Then several stories were shared to show the overwhelming presence of the problem. But then several inputs were added to counter the anecdotes, so we drifted toward a greater probability — that language is constantly changing, sometimes looking distressed or appearing immortal.