Blog Profile / The Numbers Guy
| URL : | http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Academics / Mathematics | |
| Posts on Regator: | 265 | |
| Posts / Week: | 1.1 | |
| Archived Since: | December 12, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Tough Math of Victim Funds
Kenneth Feinberg explains his approach to deciding how to distribute funds for victims of tragedies such as the Boston Marathon bombings.
Same-Sex Divorce Stats Lag
As gay-rights advocates push for more states to legalize same-sex marriage, they are also pushing for the right to same-sex divorce. But the stats on this new form of relationship split are lagging.
The Cost of Terror
Economists say the long-term cost of the Boston bombings likely is small, but there is plenty of uncertainty attached to that projection, as there is to estimates of the cost of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Math Errors That Slip Through the Crack
The finding that a prominent economics paper was based in part on a spreadsheet coding error highlights the cracks in quality control that can allow such mistakes to slip through.
One Size May Not Fit All in Obesity Definition
Samoa Air's decision to charge airfare by passenger weight has highlighted the obesity crisis in Pacific islands -- and some controversy over just how severe the crisis is.
Putting a Price Tag on Film Piracy
The movie industry moves away from dated estimates of the economic effects from piracy and toward collaboration with academic researchers seeking natural experiments in the digital-film world.
Calorie Cutters
A look at a pledge by food makers to cut 1.5 trillion calories from the food and drink they sell by 2015. Can they do it, and if they can, can it be measured and what impact will it have?
Guns Present Polling Conundrum
How many guns, gun owners, and households with guns are there in the U.S.? The answers aren't easy to come by, a mystery pollsters are eager to solve.
The World’s Best Bites
An annual attempt rank the world's 50 best restaurants confronts challenges around comped meals, lobbying and balancing the world's regions.
Economists Study Early Education
Researchers studying early education use return-on-investment calculations to measure the value of getting an early start on teaching children.
The Upbeat Stats on Statistics
Statisticians are in increasing demand as more students study statistics at all levels and universities and industry jockey to hire graduates in the field. But will the computer-science bubble repeat itself in statistics?
The Oscars Number Crunchers
The quants have entered the Academy, bringing statistical analysis to forecasts of Oscar winners. But this prediction exercise is very different than the one presented by last fall's U.S. presidential election.
Lifespan Math
Complex calculations are necessary to find candidates for powerful lifetime positions who will live long, healthy lives.
Ranking the World’s Priciest Cities
World-wide city rankings by cost of living generally are based on the buying preferences and habits of a tiny proportion of the population: expatriate executives.
Seeing Red
Do red-light cameras make intersections safer? There are lots of ways to interpret the numbers, and results in one city may not translate to its neighboring town.
Picturing Percentages
How percentages of battery power remaining and of probability of precipitation can be subject to interpretation.
Statistical Diplomacy in North Korea
A summer institute seeks to promote cultural and scientific exchange, and improve statistical understanding, in North Korea, a country many experts say has the least reliable statistics in the world.
A BMI Referendum
Obesity researchers debate whether Body Mass Index has outlived its usefulness and should be corroborated or replaced by other measures, such as waist circumference.
Awed by Equations
A recent study suggests that highly educated people can put too much stock in meaningless math. Even specialists sometimes let slip sloppy statistics.
Tips for a Statistically Savvy 2013
Readers and statistical professionals offer tips for a more numerically astute new year.