Recent Articles about Data Science

/

Making raw data more palatable for your machine learning models using quantization, power transformations, feature scaling, and interaction features

Automation will ultimately increase demand for data scientists instead of decreasing it

True purpose of neural networks begins to emerge: DeepFake Smashed Mouths Smashup

The Guardian publishes its first-ever op-ed written entirely by artificial intelligence

5 concepts every data scientist should know: multicollinearity, encoding, sampling, error, and storytelling

Why machine learning remains a niche while and automation dominates business use of technology

How artificial intelligence and robotics are changing chemical research

Developing a LSTM neural network with PyTorch on trading data to predict the price of unseen trading data

“This is the market for magic, and that market is big. Whether it’s about blockchain, big data, cloud computing, AI or other buzzwords.”

Blockchain, the amazing solution for almost nothing

Trending data science 2020 topics/tools

Analyzing the logical components of a time series using R

2019: Student wins fiction prize for a story about a dystopian algorithm deciding people's fate based on class. 2020: The same student is denied a university place because of...

an R package for fitting Bayesian epidemiological models using Stan code

5 free resources for data scientists  

“The most promising general-purpose algorithms” on the NIST’s list of candidates in the quest for quantum-proof encryption uses lattice approaches

Quantum-proof encryption leaps forward

A US Air Force pilot is taking on AI in a virtual dogfight. The showdown will be the final battle of DARPA's AlphaDogfight competition— here’s how to watch it

Is natural language processing is chasing the wrong goal

Deep learning won’t give us level 5 self-driving cars bec of its long-tail problem—it has distinct limits that prevent it from making sense of the world in the way humans do  

Even job openings for data scientists are in deep decline

An animated video of the top 10 data science tools over the past two decades

 

Being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead

/

“I was surprised by the consistency of the findings. No matter the individual or the context, disagreeableness did not give people an advantage in the competition for power — even in more cutthroat, ‘dog-eat-dog’ organizational cultures,” said Berkeley professor Cameron Anderson.

The researchers found those who scored high on disagreeable traits were not more likely to have attained power than those who were generous, trustworthy and generally nice.

That’s not to say that jerks don’t reach positions of power. It’s just that they don’t get ahead faster than others, and being a jerk simply doesn’t help, Anderson said. That’s because any power boost they get from being intimidating is offset by their poor interpersonal relationships.

Read more in Berkeley News

 

Farmer plants millions of sunflowers to help brighten hard year

/

False Causality

/

We are always in search of patterns. The tendency means that sometimes we even find patterns where none really even exist. Our brains are so trained in this way that we will even make sense of chaos to the extent that we can.

Because our training wires us to seek out patterns, it’s crucial to remember the simple maxim that correlation does not imply causation. Just because two variables move in tandem doesn’t necessarily mean that one causes the other.

This principle has been hilariously demonstrated by numerous examples. For instance, by looking at fire department data, you notice that, as more firemen are dispatched to a fire, the more damage is ultimately done to a property. Thus, you might infer that more firemen are causing more damage. In another famous example, an academic who was investigating the cause of crime in New York City in the 1980s found a strong correlation between the number of serious crimes committed and the amount of ice cream sold by street vendors. But should we conclude that eating ice cream drives people to crime? Since this makes little sense, we should obviously suspect that there was an unobserved variable causing both. During the summer, crime rates are the highest, and this is also when most ice cream is sold. Ice cream sales don’t cause crime, nor does crime increase ice cream sales. In both of these instances, looking at the data too superficially leads to incorrect assumptions.

Rahul Agarwal writing in Built in

 

Articles of interest about journalism, writing, fakes, & social media - Sept 10

/

***JOURNALISM

Local Journalism Under Siege

A crushing moment for journalists facing record attacks, arrests at the hands of law enforcement 

The Atlantic gained 20,000 subscribers after Trump dismissed it as a 'dying' magazine 

Journalists perceive stories published in local news outlets to be less newsworthy

The Guardian publishes its first-ever op-ed written entirely by artificial intelligence

***WRITING & READING

This American was tricked into writing Russian propaganda

Toronto priest plagiarized when ghostwriting for Canada's most senior Vatican figure: new book

Serious Supply Issues Disrupt the Book Industry’s Fall Season

Who Will Become the Next Ultimate Typing Champion? 

Plagiarism is not a victimless offence ($) 

***GRAMMAR

A history of punctuation 

Before Texting Your Kid, Make Sure To Double Check Your Punctuation  

***STUDENT MEDIA 

College newsrooms challenge an industry’s status quo

***FAKES & THE VIRUS

 COVID-19 arrived on a meteorite, claims Elsevier book chapter

A film editors descent into corona virus conspiracy theories ($) 

***FAKES & FRAUDS

Anti-vax fraud: Brian Deer on how he exposed Andrew Wakefield ($)

Did you see photos of officers supposedly injured last weekend in NW cities? The facts don’t check out

Hoaxes Are Making Doctors' Jobs Harder 

***DEEPFAKES

DeepFake Smashed Mouths Smashup 

Microsoft launches Deepfake detector tool

***QANON 

QAnon, other dark forces are radicalizing Americans ahead of election 

Decoding QAnon: From Pizzagate to Kanye to Marina Abramovic, this conspiracy covers everything

Here’s Why BuzzFeed News Is Calling QAnon A “Collective Delusion” From Now On

How QAnon Conspiracy Is Spreading In Christian Communities Across The U.S.

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

Hate Social Media? You’ll Love This Documentary

TikTok's future is still in limbo, with a week left on the clock

Ranked: The Most Popular Websites on the Web Since 1993

Study: How The Power Of Facebook And Google Affects Local Communities

Court Decision Limits School Officials' Ability to Punish Student Use of Social Media

Snapchat pushing poll worker signups

Visualizing the Social Media Universe in 2020 

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

Appeals court finds NSA's mass metadata collection was unlawful

How an Apple Search Engine Could Protect Your Privacy

Amazon Is Spying on Its Workers in Closed Facebook Groups, Internal Reports Show

Tech's deepening split over ads and privacy

How the next iPhone update will expose how companies try to track you

***LANGUAGE

The fragile state of ‘contact languages’

The Linguistic Evolution of Taylor Swift

How Will Language Change if Humans Travel the Stars? 

***LITERATURE

On Repetition As a Powerful Literary Tool 

New leader at PEN America

***POETRY

'They wanted to drown me at birth - now I'm a poet'

Why teach poetry?

 

 

 

Guilt and Blame

/

No one in a relationship problem is ever totally innocent or totally guilty. With this belief, people can always keep the door open to their own faults without engaging in excessive, guilty-provoking self incrimination. Holding back anger for even a short time and engaging in self-analysis in private has the effect of tempering the expression of anger. Confession alters our goals from changing others to changing the relationship. 

Mark Cosgrove, Counseling for Anger

 

Articles of interest about Higher Ed - Sept 8

/

***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS

Colleges ask students to leave campus amid COVID-19 outbreaks, but experts advise the opposite 

These schools have the largest endowments in the country — yet they're still raising tuition during the COVID pandemic 

Hagerstown Community College turns off access for remote work  

College towns around America are becoming coronavirus hot spots ($)

The Flagrant Hypocrisy of Bungled College Reopenings (opinion)

*** TESTING

This university has the most aggressive COVID-19 testing scheme in the US.

***OUTBREAKS AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS

Texas universities blame off-campus parties for rising COVID-19 cases, but few are disciplining students 

More than 900 COVID-19 cases reported at Michigan colleges and universities since August

The University of Iowa did not have mandatory testing at the start of the semester. Protests and pushback happened next

University dismisses 11 students who gathered in same room amid COVID-19 pandemic

‘Irresponsible and dangerous’ behavior at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  could lead to end of in-person semester after COVID-19 cases spike, officials warn

SDSU hits pause button as number of coronavirus cases grows

University of Iowa faculty hold 'sick out' to protest in-person classes

Hundreds of South Carolina college students busted at massive pool party

SUNY Oneonta Sends Students Home for Semester After COVID Cases Spike Over 500

***K-12 

Is It Time to Reexamine Grading?

How Google Classroom became teachers’ go-to tool—and why it’s fallen short

Reinventing Education: How to fix the crisis in U.S. schools

Cape Henlopen student sues district over remote learning

***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS 

Adrian College rescinds layoff notices, department cuts

Colleges furlough more employee

***HIGHER ED & THE LAW

4 Liability Trends Driving the Higher Education Coverage Crisis

Universities can't use privacy laws to withhold data on coronavirus outbreaks, experts say

***ONLINE CLASSES  

Distance Learning Presents A Challenge For Students With ADHD 

These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat

How college students can make the most of remote learning 

***ACADEMIC LIFE  

University of Michigan faculty say administration has not been transparent

A White professor says she has been pretending to be Black for her entire professional career

Jessica Krug's Department Speaks Out

***ADMINISTRATORS

National U Holds Off on Name Change to Honor Donor Investigated for Child Porn

Lehigh University president to step down

Forced-out University of Kentucky dean details removal. Faculty expresses ‘dismay.’

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

Taylor fires tenured professor over controversial video 

Mid-Atlantic Christian University confirms building collapse Saturday morning, all students accounted for

***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

Liberty tells staff to refrain from interacting with Falwell 

‘A culture of fear’: Liberty U trustees under fire for ignoring complaints about Falwell Jr’s campus carousing

How Jerry Falwell Jr. mixed his personal finances with his university's 

***RESEARCH 

Massive fraud investigation targets prominent Brazilian health researcher

 There is an urgent need to improve peer review

***STUDENT LIFE

Student's refusal to wear anti-COIVD masks leads SDSU to confine them to their dorms

‘Nobody Likes Snitching’: How Rules Against Parties Are Dividing Campuses 

Stanford University Students Flock to a Virtual Campus

University Of California, Santa Cruz, Rehires Student Assistants Fired In Spring

How on-campus college students can reduce their risks of getting covid-19 ($)

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Michigan State Employees Failed to Act on Sexual Misconduct 

New Title IX sexual assault guidelines in effect on Oklahoma campuses

Washington Football Team Harassment Allegations Have Women In Sports Wondering, ‘Is This Worth It?’

***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS

Brown University Drops 'Plantations' From Lengthy Formal Name 

"Hitler was right" neo-Nazi posters found hanging at Arizona university

Mizzou athletes march on campus to shine light on social injustices

Skidmore College outlines racial justice initiatives

Depression Lingers

/

There is a chain of events follow the awareness of a loss that starts with mind-body chain of events that leads to depression. While it mind can resolve the loss, the body still needs time to recover. The biochemical changes accompanying the depression take time to return to normal. One may continue to feel depressed long after the problem seems to be resolved.

This is important to remember because many people who experience such temporary losses do not allow time for the body’s chemistry to heal. They are likely to interpret their continued low mood as a sign of failure, reject themselves, and create further loss and depression. Many depressions are perpetuated this way.

The healthiest way to deal with sadness following restoration of the loss is simply to accept it. Give the body time to heal after the mind is recovered.

Archibald Hart, Counseling the Depressed

Articles of interest about religion - Sept 4

/

***RELIGION & THE VIRUS 

COVID-19 Outbreak at Focus on the Family

Hundreds gather at Portland waterfront, without masks, to see controversial worship leader

San Diego Church Once Under Scrutiny for Defying Public Health Orders Announces In-Person Services at 4 County Locations 

***SURVEYS ON RELIGION

Half of U.S. Christians say casual sex sometimes or always acceptable

Women Read the Bible More Than Men. Why?

***OUTSIDE THE US

Researchers Find Christians in Iran Approaching 1 Million

Satellite Images Show China's Expansion Of Muslim Detention Camps

Outspoken Atheist, Arrested in Nigeria for Blasphemy, Hasn’t Been Seen Since

***JERRY FALWELL 

Liberty announces investigation into Falwell's tenure

Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Departure Brings Relief on Liberty University’s Campus

The Jerry Falwell Jr. scandal, explained

Jerry Falwell Jr.'s fatal miscalculation

U.S. evangelical leader Falwell to leave university after personal scandal, collect $10.5 million in severance

***RELIGION AND POLITICS

11,000 sign petition to remove Franklin Graham as charity's CEO after convention prayer 

Christian radio show host Punches Protester After White House Speech 

The secret to Donald Trump’s support among evangelicals: his leadership style aligns with a vision of Christian manhood

Evangelicals are looking for answers online. They’re finding QAnon instead

Political Conventions Show How Religion Is Playing A Role In Campaigns

Evangelical Voters Weigh In On What's At Stake In November's Election

Voter guides show the power and duplicity of American evangelicalism (opinion)

Christian author Eric Metaxas Admits Punching Protester In D.C.

***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES

American Christianity’s White-Supremacy Problem

How Black Lives Matter Is Changing the Church 

22 experts on religion and race

***CELEBRITIES 

Chadwick Boseman: Man of faith in real life, ‘Black Panther’ on screen

***DENOMINATIONS

Fifth Circuit to Decide Whether Southern Baptist Minister Can Sue Southern Baptist Ministry over Religious Dispute 

Former head pastor at Texas Nazarene church indicted on child pornography charges

Northwest Nazarene University holding commencement for 2020 grads this weekend

***CATHOLIC

Court reinstates sexual harassment claim of former Catholic music director fired after same-sex wedding

***MEGACHURCHES 

L.A. To Evict Grace Community Church From Parking Lot 

Megachurch pastor John MacArthur says there is no pandemic

Pastor John Gray accused of another inappropriate relationship; lawyers say he’s being blackmailed

Making friends

/

We picture lovers face to face but friend side by side, their eyes looking ahead. That is why those pathetic people who simply “want friends” can never make any. The very condition of having friends is that we should want something else besides friends. Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing, those who are going no where can have no fellow-travelers.

CS Lewis, The Four Loves