From one of the official blogs of The Economist: Austerity is a dirty word in Hungary, conjuring up visions of slick-suited bankers jetting in from the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, demanding that the government slash and burn welfare and public services. Yet that is what the government is doing, even if it will not admit it. The rest is the … Continue reading Don’t Call It Glee
I haven’t been enticed by television in many a year now (thank the gods and the Man Jesus) but back in 2004, I was unemployed and freshly relocated to Romania, trying to learn the language. I watched a lot of television in those days and remember quite well the presidential elections of that year, in which a more respected politician named Teodor Stolojan bowed out … Continue reading The Bitter Taste of False Power
I will warn you ahead of time – this is going to be a long one. Yes, for an entire week I was indeed “dead” – not in the corporeal sense but in the “virtual” sense. I was cut off from the internet for an entire week. My electricity was cut and without it, almost every trace of my modern life disappeared in an instant. … Continue reading Am Venit Sa Dau Drumu’ La Lumina
If you’re not afraid to use your brain, I recommend watching this documentary (45 minutes) about “quants”, a slang term for quantitative analysts. Although the documentary covers many subjects, it directly addresses some of the topics I’ve been writing about lately, namely the inability to predict the future using (current) statistical modeling. I am not a mathematician, professional or otherwise. But this film interviews several … Continue reading Don’t Strain Your Brain
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. -Mark Twain I have a confession to make. Many, many moons ago, my roommates and I were living in a perpetual state of poverty and were looking to make some cash. A friend of ours came across a table of statistics used for some casino games (particularly craps) and so we decided to host … Continue reading Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
All Things Romania 