This is going viral: College Advice from a 75-Year-Old Who Went to School for 55 Years and Got 30 Degrees Note how a comment that was critical was heavily down-voted and subsequently deleted, while comments praising the man were up-voted: The story went viral because Millennials believe that, despite high student loan debt and weak… Continue reading Millennials and Misconceptions
Month: September 2016
How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math (response)
How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math They should just call it nauseo.us magazine because some of these articles are so wrong as to induce vomiting. There is no disagreement about the absurdity that playing basketball will make you taller but many people willingly believe ‘brain puzzles’ or ‘rewiring’ will make them… Continue reading How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math (response)
Tooleb becomes self-aware, part 2
It looks like Nassim Nicholas Tooleb is becoming self-aware again in a recent Medium post appropriately titled The Intellectual Yet Idiot (in which he expands on his original Facebook post). Just replace all instances of ‘IYI’ with ‘Tooleb’ and it’s a perfect description of him. For those who think Tooleb is part of the alt-right,… Continue reading Tooleb becomes self-aware, part 2
Behavioral Psychology and Influence
I’m skeptical that this persuasion stuff works on anyone who is remotely competent, such as gatekeepers and employers. It’s all flimsy social pop pseudoscience, much like Daniel Kahneman and Dan Ariely books that tell a message that people want to read despite the actual science being lacking, fabricated, or nonexistent. Of the six items on… Continue reading Behavioral Psychology and Influence
Post-Pundit Era
Perhaps we’re kinda in a post-pundit era. Pundits used to have a lot of influence, but since 2013 or so, not as much. Through much of the 80’s and 90’s, pundits dominated the newspapers, radio, and TVs, their opinions broadcast to a Zingiest that eagerly spread the word, as well as influencing policy. Thomas Sowell,… Continue reading Post-Pundit Era
James Altucher’s Top 1% Advisory Report Review (Don’t Bother)
There has been some recent discussion about ‘James Altucher’s Top 1% Advisory Report’, which purportedly grants its subscribers access to the same lucrative investments ‘elite’ investors use. Top 1% Advisory, a hugely popular new research letter Each month, multimillionaire investor James Altucher shows you how to make 100% to 500% gains… on the best ideas… Continue reading James Altucher’s Top 1% Advisory Report Review (Don’t Bother)
In Defense Of A Boring, Comfortable Life (analysis)
An article on Dose.com, In Defense Of A Boring, Comfortable Life, is going viral: There is nothing wrong with living a comfortable and unadventurous life. I know. This is the internet. The odds are good you just spent five minutes watching someone do something incredible. After watching that video, you probably thought to yourself, “Wow.… Continue reading In Defense Of A Boring, Comfortable Life (analysis)
Cambrian explosion’ of intellectualism
One question is: why learn advanced mathematics? This is related to the is-ought problem, as posed by Hume. Problems in differential geometry can be difficult and time-consuming , unlike simple calculus, and are best done by computer, not by hand. A single tensor, as found in general relativity, may have dozens of components…writing them out… Continue reading Cambrian explosion’ of intellectualism
Does algorithmic trading work?
There has been a lot of discussion (such as on Reddit, Quora, Hacker News, and other communities) about quantitative/algorithmic trading: Does algorithmic trading really work for individual traders? Isn’t it just another seemingly sophisticated method like technical analysis? Does algorithmic trading really work? What are the potential gains and limitations? What kind of return can… Continue reading Does algorithmic trading work?
Lessons from a 45-Year Study of Supersmart Children
What is obvious to pretty much everyone else, isn’t so for the blank slate left, who have to perform mental gymnastics to explain away the reality that environment alone cannot account for the disparity of outcomes, both educational and socioeconomic, between individuals. According to the left, policy makers are not ‘doing enough’ and that ‘higher… Continue reading Lessons from a 45-Year Study of Supersmart Children