As with much of what I know about the 19th British Empire, I first learned about Lakshmi Bai from George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman stories, in this case Flashman in the Great Game.
The Rebel Rani
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Author Archives: gmcdavid
Hotter still
Earth has warmest May on record, may signal warmest year in pipeline.
The NOAA analysis for May agrees with those of NASA and the Japanese Meteorological Agency, which I referred to here.
How the NRA and pro-gun Americans abuse Australian crime stats
Faking waves, by way of AstroKatie
Conclusion:
So what is the reality? Homicide and suicide rates have declined in Australia since the 1990s. Deaths results from firearms have plunged even more dramatically. In Australia, mass shootings similar to Port Arthur,
Hoddle Street and Strathfield have not occurred for over a decade.Is this the result of the gun laws introduced by the Howard government? While some (particularly gun advocates) dispute their impact, several studies conclude the laws have made a difference .
Claims that Australian gun laws have increased crime are pure spin and deception. They say more about American partisan politics than about the reality in Australia.
Making good decisions in a hurry
Sometimes, particularly on television, decision making is presented as a choice between careful analysis and “going with the gut.” On television, of course, the gut always wins. However, in the real world this is a false dichotomy. We often, particularly in a crisis, do neither. Instead we use “heuristics.”
Heuristics enable us to make fast, highly (but not perfectly) accurate, decisions without taking too much time and searching for information. Heuristics allow us to focus on only a few pieces of information and ignore the rest.
See Miracles Happen — The Simple Heuristic That Saved 150 Lives
“Experts … often search for less information than novices do.”
Hotter and hotter
Earth Just Tied for Its Warmest April on Record, NOAA Says
Earth Has Its Warmest May on Record Globally, Spring Could Be Warmest
May 2014 Was the Hottest May in Recorded History
Those stories about a slowdown or “pause” in global warming? Just statistical noise, or a #FauxPause.
Monday Night Irish Class, June 16, 2014
Irish Class, JUne 16, 2014
Rang Gaeilge, 16ú lá Mí na Mheiteam 2014
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Why psychology is harder than physics
[Varying a lot of experimental parameters is] much easier to do in physics than psychology– physics apparatus is complicated and expensive, but once you have it, atoms are cheap and you can run your experiment over and over and over again. Human subjects, on the other hand, are a giant pain in the ass– not only do you need to do paperwork to get permission to work with them, but they’re hard to find, and many of them expect to be compensated for their time. And it’s hard to get them to come in to the lab at four in the morning so you can keep your experiment running around the clock.
The Internet and how Science is done
When researchers make all their data available on the Internet, anybody can look at it and confirm the results … or not. This is a good thing. Just as well, since the Genie is out of the bottle now.
A similar thing has happened in economics. Continue reading
Minoan and Mycenaean, Matriarchy and Patriarchy
History is much too messy for simplistic interpretations.
Meet the man who killed Pluto
Rachel and I heard him speak at the University of Minnesota two years ago. I wrote about it here.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 