Monthly Archives: July 2009

A QUIBBLE ABOUT RANDOM PROCESSES.

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Philip

A QUIBBLE ABOUT RANDOM PROCESSES. David Adler in his article says: “But we are also fooled by nearly random processes that look random, even if they aren’t, because the differences are too subtle for us to notice.” Kids, I would … Continue reading →

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FLIPPING COINS WITH A BETTER THAN 50/50 PROBABILITY OF WINNING.

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Philip

FLIPPING COINS WITH A BETTER THAN 50/50 PROBABILITY OF WINNING. Kids, flipping a fair coin is often used as an example of a random process, with a 50% probability of the coin coming up heads. This article, based on David … Continue reading →

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COMPARING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Philip

COMPARING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. The David Brown article concludes by identifying an area where more reductions in heart disease deaths can be obtained: “A big focus in cardiology right now is to get more heart attack victims to the hospital. … Continue reading →

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SHOULD EVERYONE CARRY ASPIRIN?

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Philip

SHOULD EVERYONE CARRY ASPIRIN? There is a considerable effort being made to make defribillators more available in public spaces, such as airports, which seems to be a good idea. David Brown’s article suggests another one. The article begins: “Two decades … Continue reading →

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THE FIGHT AGAINST HEART DISEASE—”EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND WILDLY SUCCESSFUL.”

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Philip

THE FIGHT AGAINST HEART DISEASE—”EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND WILDLY SUCCESSFUL.” I argued here that it is wrong to talk about the increase in health care costs without taking into consideration the improvements that those higher costs are achieving. The quote in … Continue reading →

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GREASE.

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Philip

GREASE. Kids, the musical comedy/movie GREASE has always seemed to be about my high school. There were over 4000 students at York Community High School when I was there. There was a socioeconomic split that I was aware of more … Continue reading →

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OVALTINE.

Posted on July 26, 2009 by Philip

OVALTINE. Vikki Oritz, who wrote the article on the Roarin’ Elgin that I posted on here, has an article on the Ovaltine plant in Villa Park, Illinois, which was also part of my youth. Villa Park was next to Elmhurst, … Continue reading →

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HOW THE ROMANS BUILT ARCHES AND DOMES.

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Philip

HOW THE ROMANS BUILT ARCHES AND DOMES. This wikipedia article describes the traditional way that Roman arches were constructed: “An arch requires all of its elements to hold it together, raising the question of how an arch is constructed. One … Continue reading →

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CONSTRUCTING AN ARCH.

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Philip

CONSTRUCTING AN ARCH. Henry Nejako sent me this slide show of the ongoing construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass, also known as the Colorado River Bridge with the caption “Acrophobiacs beware.” In case the New York Times link goes down, … Continue reading →

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HOW DO BRIGHT RED MALE CARDINALS SURVIVE?

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Philip

HOW DO BRIGHT RED MALE CARDINALS SURVIVE? Jack Sanders, who writes a wonderful column on birds in the Darien Times, asked this question. It’s the kind of question that scientists ask and that never occur to me. As with many … Continue reading →

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