Tag Archive | Data
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part VI
In today’s final installment of TED’s wrongful conviction series, David Dow points out the uncomfortable connection between childhood environment and eventually being sentenced to the death sentence. About three quarters of death row inmates have a history in the juvenile justice system. How can we break this link and help end this link? Dow has […]
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part V
In today’s installment of TED’s wrongful conviction series, James Lockyer gives a case study of a wrongfully convicted client of his, and the long journey to justice. Some of the thoughts from previous talks in this series (click the Wrongful Convictions category above or the Wrongful Convictions tag to see other posts in this series, […]
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part IV
In today’s installment of TED’s wrongful conviction series, Peter Donnelly discusses how misunderstanding statistics and probability can lead to wrongful convictions. Even the “experts” can really mess this up. The problem is often experts in other disciplines attempting to apply statistics and probability, and failing miserably. However, often no one seems to notice. We would […]
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part III
In today’s installment of TED’s wrongful conviction series, Rob Warden discusses false confessions. Why would anyone admit to a crime that they did not commit? There are several reasons. Some are predictable (to make the interrogation stop), while others are more surprising (police have lied and implied they have evidence that they don’t). Warden gives example cases […]
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part II
In today’s installment of TED’s wrongful conviction series, Bryan Stevenson talks about the issue of justice. Our criminal justice system is supposed to give every accused the same protections, but does it? Stevenson points out where it does not, and how we might be able to make a difference.
TED on Wrongful Convictions: Part I
I recently came across a series of good talks about the phenomenon of wrongful convictions. There are numerous reasons for the problem, some of which will be discussed in the videos. I’ll spread them out over six days, so that my readers can give each talk the thought that it might deserve. The speakers come […]
Demography: Predicting the Downfall of China?
A very interesting look at where all of the earth’s billions of people are now, and where the population is heading. Projections place the occurrence of the world population of humans passing 7 billion at some point between 31 Oct 2011 (UN estimate) and March 2012 (US Census Bureau estimate). The most interesting piece of […]
College Students and Technology
An interesting article from researchers at the University of Washington. A nice summary of the article is found here. The full article can be found here. Here are the basics: A new University of Washington study found college students – only weeks away from final exams and in the library – tend to pare use […]
TMQ: Where Did that Quote Come From?
Interesting thoughts from Gregg Easterbrook on the world of unnamed sources to quotes: Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, and Anonymous People Don’t Complain About Quotes: In an era plagued by what Stephen Colbert memorably called “truthiness,” increasingly, public speakers quote people or sources who mysteriously lack names. In Barack Obama’s speech on the Afghan war, the president […]
Spotting Bad Statistics
A nice TED talk summarizing how to spot bad statistics and the questions that you should ask. Related recent articles: Studies hidden behind a “paywall”. On fictitious reviews. Who needs science? The CDC undersells its own research.
No Longer Normal 