Burger Data!

Reminds me of the Economist Big Mac Index.  In this NYT article, a bunch of guys get together monthly and rank hamburger joints in the greater NYC area.  Look at the photo:  can’t tell if these guys are more interested in the data or the burger (actually, the burgers are gone, so there’s nothing left but data and a few extra pounds).  Gotta love it.  (Note:  Data360 could easily be the platform for anyone like these guys who want to track and display data.)  Wanted – Best Burger in New York City – NYTimes.com

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The Map Scroll: Is Part of the United States in the Third World?

The Map Scroll: Is Part of the United States in the Third World?

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Calculated Risk: Fact Checking Bernanke on Real Estate

Calculated Risk: Fact Checking Bernanke on Real Estate

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A Tortured Rationale – WSJ.com

 

For some reason, the subject of torture fascinates me.  Yes, we could go deep into my childhood, but let’s not.  How far should we go to get DATA from a human being?  The answer seems to depend upon:

1. What is at stake.  What will happen if you don’t get information?
2. The damage to the life of the informant.
3. The “badness” of the informant.

All of this reminds me of Abu Ghraib.  I’m not sure if what bothered me more about that situation was the torture or the idiocy of our troops to take and release those photographs.

A Tortured Rationale – WSJ.com

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NYT: The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks, at Least for Now

Trade deficit has shrunk because imports have fallen off more than exports.  OFF THE CHARTS – The U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks, at Least for Now – NYTimes.com

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Calculated Risk: Shiller on Depression Scares

Nice post putting today’s economy in perspective.  Our economy (GDP) is currently only 4% down from our peak.  The technical definition of a depression is GDP down 10%.  The great depression was down 26% from the peak.  The blog calculated risk puts a nice graph together, although I would like to see them share their data. Calculated Risk: Shiller on Depression Scares

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Miscellanea: Science vs. Faith

Sometimes I feel late to the party.  This somewhat harsh view of faith (and resonant view of science) from January 2007.  I am someone who has great appreciation for data and science.  Some of my friends and supporters have called me a data freak.  I also have witnessed my wife give birth to two children, in both cases naturally, without any drugs.  I have watched her body do what it needs to do to bring that child into the world.  I’ve also watch plants grow and admired the beauty of the drive for life…and I find the “force of life” incredibly hard to explain.  It most definitely exists.  Will science explain the force of life someday?  I don’t know, but the force of life is inside of all of us and that force of life is not rational or scientific, but the existence of the force of life is indisputable.  My point is that I think the process map on the right is missing something and that something is the force of life.  Miscellanea:  Science vs. Faith

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Data Will Win

The censors can try with all their might, but I believe that in the end, bits and bytes will always be able to escape.  This article, about data escaping censors in Iran, is a great example of how data cannot be held back.  People who value truth also value data.  One downside of open data (and free speech) is that, in the words of Winston Churchill, “a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”  It’s a small price to pay for freedom.  Cyberwar – Iranians and Others Outwit Net Censors – Series – NYTimes.com

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Churchgoers more likely to support torture

The results of this survey are not too surprising, given the premise that more bloodshed has been shed over religion than any other reason.  Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful – CNN.com

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