Amy Cuddy won't let power posing go, so neither can I.
Putanumonit's birthday week continues, this is the second of my year 1 review posts. Smart students, stupid charts I stand behind everything I wrote in I Smell a Chart, at least until someone shares it with FiveThirtyEight's Leah Libresco who will politely explain why I'm an idiot. My post focused on the abuses of data and statistics in … Continue reading Year 1 Redux – Trump
A series revisiting year 1 of Putanumonit. Today: Serena Williams vs. Ivan the Terrible.
Happy birthday to Putanumonit! Come celebrate with me next Friday (10/28) at Zach Weinersmith's BAH Fest West. If you move fast you can grab one of the few remaining $10 tickets. I'm giving a talk on the dumbest idea ever to solve the global food crisis. For a taste, here's my performance from last year's BAH … Continue reading A Year of Putting a Numonit
When economics became impersonal, humanity rose from ragged tribes to a prosperous civilization. It's time for a similar revolution in our morals.
Can you judge what people believe in based on the tribes they belong to? What if they explicitly tell you? And what does this have to do with the fact that only 2% of blacks support Trump?
Finding common ground on EpiPens, and establishing the Good Drug Administration.
Can Putanumonit put a number on the divine itself?
What's Putanumonit? People see some things as quantifiable, e.g. tax rates, and unquantifiable, e.g. love, charity, happiness, feminism and Chinese soccer. Personally, I have no idea how the American tax system works, but everything else seems quite easy to put a number on if you try. For example, a simple mathematical fact can explain why the Chinese soccer … Continue reading Welcome to Put A Num On It!
How come women make 79 cents on the dollar? Here are two prominent explanations that are clearly wrong, and two uncommon explanations that are possibly true.
It's time to turn my data modeling skills to the one question that matters: how long will you need to play to catch every Pokémon?
In the 17th century, John Locke described an immutable law of nature regarding the prices of goods. So why do we keep raging against it in vain to this day?
The rich are just like us, except they have more money. Should we try and grab some?
No table of income distribution tells the whole story, so I had to make up one.
People will tell you some things are impossible Trust their advice. Wishful thinking doesn't change reality. Follow your heart after aligning it with socially acceptable, meaningful and achievable goals. The rush of wind in your face is not worth the higher mortality risk of motorcycles. Take life one day at a time as if you have any … Continue reading Wisdom of Words
Status 7/15 New post below. I'm back from the arctic circle! Here's a list of what's cool and less cool about Iceland, from least to coolest: #945: It's literally very cool. #890: Viking Ölgerd, AKA $7-a-bottle Bud Light Lime. There are actually a couple of decent craft breweries in Iceland, but most bars only carry … Continue reading Status: Iceland
Measuring economic inequality and its consequences is hard, so why bother when you can just pick numbers that fit your preferred narrative?
Status update 5/25/2016 Do rich people deserve their riches? Do poor people deserve their poverty or criminals their punishment? Is inequality a problem that needs to be solved? Inequality of what, exactly? For the past few weeks I've been obsessed with the idea that we're thinking about these things in an entirely wrong fashion. Not … Continue reading Brain Rewiring in Process
Are you having trouble navigating a complex, mathematical universe using a squishy, easily fooled monkey brain? So are we! But we also have something that may help.
Can money buy happiness? Of course! Just follow a few principles and a simple formula, and when in doubt: buy good soap.
PUTANUMONIT 