Two of the feeds I read reported on the same article yesterday. I found it amusing that both appeared on the same page, and the second (Flowinga Data) captured my impression of the first (Slashdot) exactly, at least in the headline.
OK Cupid is a huge online dating site with a penchant for data analysis. In this latest release, they found a correlation between sexual activity and smart phone brand (right).
“According to OK Cupid’s survey of 552,000 user pictures iPhone users have more sexual partners than BlackBerry or Android owners. By age 30, the average male iPhone user has had about 10 partners while female iPhone users have had 12. By contrast, BlackBerry users hover around 8 partners and Android users have a mere 6.”
“Anonymous Coward” at Slashdot concludes that “Numbers Show iPhone Owners Get More Sex.”
Meanwhile, the folks at Flowing Data points out that this is no more than correlation (never to be confused with causation, as every scientist and statistician should know) and that, just as likely, “iPhone users are more promiscuous.”
The whole thing is just packed with interesting discussion points about worldview, bias, and wishful thinking,
There’s more from OK Cupid - your online date will be 2 inches shorter than he claims, will make 20% less than he states, and that picture is at least two years old, especially if it’s good.
Seth Godin talks about how easy it is to manipulate “Top” lists in Payola.
The New York Times bestseller list is even more easily manipulated than Billboard ever was. It doesn’t cost much to scam it and it’s pretty straightforward to buy your way onto the list (I know authors who have done this and consultants who sell this service.) You can hire a bunch of old ladies who will go into the ‘right’ stores and buy books on the right day. As a result of this distortion, the books on the list get more promoted, and thus sell more copies. It’s not pretty but it’s true. The Times is well aware that this is going on, that the list isn’t accurate, but they persist in publishing lists that are demonstrably wrong. (I still find this amazing, but it’s true).
There are firms dedicated to manipulating social networks and a whole industry dedicated to manipulating search engine results (Search Engine Optimization, or SEO.)
While the increasing torrent of information today makes “Best Of” and “Top N” sources more important than ever, they are all subject to manipulation to some degree. Be skeptical.
Not too long ago, I was reading news at Yahoo. The default view shows headlines grouped under “most recommeneded” and “most emailed”as well as several other categories of “Top”. At one point, the actual number of recommendations or emails comprising “most” was available. I was shocked to see that my viewing choices were seeded by three people.
I stumbled on this today - computer Operating System guidelines as defined by Hollywood Movies. There’s more old geek humor on his site (try this one, without decaf).
/************************************/
/* Guidelines to development */
/* on the */
/* HOLLYWOOD OPERATING SYSTEM */
/************************************/
1. Any PERMISSION DENIED has an OVERRIDE function.
2. Complex calculations and loading of huge amounts of data will be
accomplished in under three seconds. In the movies, modems transmit
data at two gigabytes per second.
3. When the power plant/missile site/whatever overheats, all the
control panels will explode, as will the entire building.
4. If you display a file on the screen and someone deletes the file,
it also disappears from the screen. There are no ways to copy a
backup file -- and there are no undelete utilities.
Corollary: Deleting a file instantly removes all copies of said file from
disks, memory, frame buffers and caches across all computers in the universe.
5. If a disk has got encrypted files, you are automatically asked for
a password when you try to access it.
6. No matter what kind of computer disk it is, it'll be readable by
any system you put it into. All application software is usable by all
computer platforms.
7. The more high-tech the equipment, the more buttons it has. However,
everyone must have been highly trained, because the buttons aren't labeled.
8. Most computers, no matter how small, have reality-defying three-dimensional,
real-time, photo-realistic animated graphics capability.
9. Laptops, for some strange reason, always seem to have amazing real-time
video phone capabilities and the performance of a CRAY.
10. Whenever a character looks at a terminal, the image is so bright that it
projects itself onto his/her face.
11. Computers never crash during key, high-intensity activities. Humans
operating computers never make mistakes under stress.
12. (From Independence Day) No matter what kind of virus it is, any computer
can be infected with it -- even an alien spaceship's computer -- simply by
running a virus upload program on a laptop.
13. (From Jurassic Park) A custom system with millions of lines of code
controlling a multimillion dollar theme park can be operated by a 13 year
old who has seen a Unix system before. Seeing an operating system means you
know how to run any application on that system, even custom apps.
Note: What OS was it really running?
(1) "These are super computers". A CrayOS?
(2) "Quicktime movie, Apple logo, trash can." MacOS?
(3) "Reboot. System ready. C:\" DOS?
(4) "Hey, this is Unix. I know this" Unix?
The computers in Jurassic Park were Cray supercomputers running the MacOS
as a graphical shell of DOS all layered on top of a Unix base.
14. You cannot stop a destructive program or virus by unplugging the computer.
Presumably the virus has it's own built-in power supply.
15. You cannot stop a destructive program downloading onto your system by
unplugging the phone line. You must figure out the mandatory "back door"
all evil virus programmers put in.
16. Computers only crash if a virus or a hacker is involved.
17. All text must be at least 72 point.
18. Word processors do not have an insert point.
19. The only way to reboot is to shut off the main power to the building.
20. Passwords can be guessed in three and exactly three tries. If you cannot
guess the password in three tries, you must give up immediately.
21. Any task or program can be executed by simply pressing Enter, no matter
which program or window is in the foreground.
22. All scanners, video cameras and digital cameras have a resolution of
approximately 500 megapixels. Any image can be infinitely magnified with
no pixelization.
23. Security will not improve over time. Nonaffialiated personnel can take
over a space ship without needing an account or access control.
Corollary: Anyone can override access control lists in the future.
24. All hackers wear black T-shirts or Hawaiian shirts.
25. Incoming messages are displayed letter by letter. Email over the Internet
works like telegraphs.
26. Microsoft Windows doesn't exist. Macintosh has a 75% market share.
27. GUI operations, such as image selection and manipulation, can be handled
easily and quickly via the keyboard.
28. If a robot's eyes turn red, it becomes evil.
29. Cell phones and laptops have infinite battery life, until you need to
call for help.
30. Latency does not exist. Voice and data can be sent to Mars in real time.
31. If all else fails, hit it. That fixes everything.
32. If you don't have the combination to an electronic door lock, shoot it.
Destruction of the lock electronics will always unlock the door.
________________________________________________________________________________
Presented by nandview.com - An open source network & systems monitoring solution
The federal government provides huge subsidies to our food producers, but the vast majority of the spending is at odds with our dietary needs and even federal nutritional guidance.
What should be done?
PCRM, (maker of the infographic above) along with many other health and public interest groups, supported the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment, which was offered by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). This amendment would have limited government subsidies of unhealthy foods, cut subsidies to millionaire farmers, and provided more money for nutrition and food assistance programs for Americans and impoverished children overseas.
Unfortunately, politics doomed the reform effort. At the eleventh hour, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) feared that freshman representatives who voted to cut subsidies might risk losing their seats in farm states in the 2008 elections, endangering the Democratic majority. The reform amendment was defeated 117 to 309.
It makes me sad to see these political machinations. The history of nutritionism in America is rife with it though, and this is only one small example. Note that PCRM is one of the “public interest” groups supporting the reform bill and these supporters are not to be confused with “special interest” groups.
Flowing Data was the beginning of this little sojourn into farm policy.
nchant for data analysis. In this latest release, they found a correlation between sexual activity and smart phone brand (right).
