I wrote recently how programming is a great tool for learning because you haven’t really understood something until you can explain it to someone else (and in programming that someone else is the computer). Well yesterday in teaching my Skillshare class I got a good dose of that myself. I managed to completely botch my initial explanation of Bayes Theorem. How come? Because while I understand it reasonably well, I don’t understand it with every fiber of my brain and when I got myself into som...

I wrote recently how programming is a great tool for learning because you haven’t really understood something until you can explain it to someone else (and in programming that someone else is the computer). Well yesterday in teaching my Skillshare class I got a good dose of that myself. I managed to completely botch my initial explanation of Bayes Theorem. How come? Because while I understand it reasonably well, I don’t understand it with every fiber of my brain and when I got myself into som...

In part 3 of this series I argued that the changes in employment are the main driver behind the massive rise in inequality in the US. That inevitably brings out a number of responses for how to address inequality, none of which I believe will actually work. At the end of that post I already showed a graph that debunks the notion that this can be solved through better education (at least of the traditional variety). Similarly we now have calls for better labor organizing and higher minimum wag...

In part 3 of this series I argued that the changes in employment are the main driver behind the massive rise in inequality in the US. That inevitably brings out a number of responses for how to address inequality, none of which I believe will actually work. At the end of that post I already showed a graph that debunks the notion that this can be solved through better education (at least of the traditional variety). Similarly we now have calls for better labor organizing and higher minimum wag...

This is the third post in my mini series on employment. Part 1 illustrated how agriculture and manufacturing, the two historically large areas of employment, have collapsed over time. Part 2 drilled into the services sector which today accounts for the bulk of employment to show that many categories there have stopped to grow and are under pressure from the twin forces of automation and globalization. Why does all of this matter? My overriding argument is that we have not found a new source o...

This is the third post in my mini series on employment. Part 1 illustrated how agriculture and manufacturing, the two historically large areas of employment, have collapsed over time. Part 2 drilled into the services sector which today accounts for the bulk of employment to show that many categories there have stopped to grow and are under pressure from the twin forces of automation and globalization. Why does all of this matter? My overriding argument is that we have not found a new source o...

I am taking the rest of this week off (including a blogging mini-break) as my parents are in town from Germany and I rarely get to spend time with them. Last night Susan and I went to dinner with them and then to the NY Philharmonic to hear a terrific performance of Antonín Dvořák’s From the New World symphony (one of my favorites). It was a wonderful evening and also a great reminder of all the things my parents did that I am grateful for. My parents took me to the Opera as a kid but also le...

I am taking the rest of this week off (including a blogging mini-break) as my parents are in town from Germany and I rarely get to spend time with them. Last night Susan and I went to dinner with them and then to the NY Philharmonic to hear a terrific performance of Antonín Dvořák’s From the New World symphony (one of my favorites). It was a wonderful evening and also a great reminder of all the things my parents did that I am grateful for. My parents took me to the Opera as a kid but also le...

There are two major battles brewing at the moment, one domestic and one international that both deserve close attention and require citizen action. TLDR version: go to (1) WhatIsTheITU and (2) VanishingRights, take action there and help spread the word. On the international side the attempt by the ITU to take over regulation of the Internet is in full swing. I had briefly mentioned this before and at the time many folks dismissed it as something that wouldn’t gain any traction. But with major...

There are two major battles brewing at the moment, one domestic and one international that both deserve close attention and require citizen action. TLDR version: go to (1) WhatIsTheITU and (2) VanishingRights, take action there and help spread the word. On the international side the attempt by the ITU to take over regulation of the Internet is in full swing. I had briefly mentioned this before and at the time many folks dismissed it as something that wouldn’t gain any traction. But with major...

I have been too busy with more important topics to write movie reviews. So here are a few mini reviews (reviewlets?) of movies I have seen recently. I wanted to like both Looper and Skyfall but didn’t really. Conversely, my expectations for Lincoln and Life of Pi were lower and I wound up enjoying both immensely. Maybe there is a theory about the impact of expectations on actual enjoyment here (trying to remember if Daniel Kahneman or Dan Ariely have written about this). Looper’s basic time t...

I have been too busy with more important topics to write movie reviews. So here are a few mini reviews (reviewlets?) of movies I have seen recently. I wanted to like both Looper and Skyfall but didn’t really. Conversely, my expectations for Lincoln and Life of Pi were lower and I wound up enjoying both immensely. Maybe there is a theory about the impact of expectations on actual enjoyment here (trying to remember if Daniel Kahneman or Dan Ariely have written about this). Looper’s basic time t...

When Union Square Ventures invested in Dwolla we were excited about the team’s approach to payments. But there was a big limitation which made initial use of Dwolla a bit daunting: you had to have a funded Dwolla account which could take several days to set up. Today Dwolla is launching guest checkout which allows anyone to get going immediately! Having the guest checkout option also makes accepting Dwolla more interesting and the company has lined up 20 launch partners. In addition to ecomme...

When Union Square Ventures invested in Dwolla we were excited about the team’s approach to payments. But there was a big limitation which made initial use of Dwolla a bit daunting: you had to have a funded Dwolla account which could take several days to set up. Today Dwolla is launching guest checkout which allows anyone to get going immediately! Having the guest checkout option also makes accepting Dwolla more interesting and the company has lined up 20 launch partners. In addition to ecomme...

I ended last week’s Tech Tuesday with a call for ideas for a sample project and got a couple of suggestions. Since then though I have come across a great idea for a project. And since I am teaching my Skillshare class today and therefore spending most of the morning hours reviewing my materials, I am keeping this post short to share the idea and its background. It’s simple: build a brain. OK, so that’s a vast overstatement. Really it will be more like simulating a bunch of neurons. But a lot ...

I ended last week’s Tech Tuesday with a call for ideas for a sample project and got a couple of suggestions. Since then though I have come across a great idea for a project. And since I am teaching my Skillshare class today and therefore spending most of the morning hours reviewing my materials, I am keeping this post short to share the idea and its background. It’s simple: build a brain. OK, so that’s a vast overstatement. Really it will be more like simulating a bunch of neurons. But a lot ...

I started the Tech Tuesday series on programming in April of this year with an overview post that compared programming to telling a person how to do something. At the time, I presented nine different questions that this raises, such as which language to speak and which words to choose in that language. Some of the early posts that followed dealt with the three foundational questions, such as the choice of programming languages, their syntax and semantics. The next set of posts addressed the f...

I started the Tech Tuesday series on programming in April of this year with an overview post that compared programming to telling a person how to do something. At the time, I presented nine different questions that this raises, such as which language to speak and which words to choose in that language. Some of the early posts that followed dealt with the three foundational questions, such as the choice of programming languages, their syntax and semantics. The next set of posts addressed the f...

It was great fun to see XKCD take up the subject of Bayesian probability. That was a good reminder that it’s been a while since I taught my Skillshare class on the subject. And so I have added a new date for a lunch class on December 4th. As per usual, all proceeds go to Pencils of Promise. I have been asked if I am going to teach this class online as opposed to in person. Some day I may do that. But for now I really enjoy being together in a room. There is something very gratifying for me to...

It was great fun to see XKCD take up the subject of Bayesian probability. That was a good reminder that it’s been a while since I taught my Skillshare class on the subject. And so I have added a new date for a lunch class on December 4th. As per usual, all proceeds go to Pencils of Promise. I have been asked if I am going to teach this class online as opposed to in person. Some day I may do that. But for now I really enjoy being together in a room. There is something very gratifying for me to...