Mathematics and Statistics

Applied Mathematics, Geometry and Topology, Analysis, Mathematical Modeling, Statistical Modeling, Game Theory, Operations, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, GIS, Image Processing

Poor reasons for preprints & post-publication peer-review

Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering
Last week, I revived the blog with some reflections on open science. In particular, I went into the case for pre-prints and the problem with the academic publishing system. This week, I want to continue this thread by examining three common arguments for preprints: speed, feedback, and public access. I think that these arguments are often motivated in the wrong way. In their standard presentation, they are bad arguments for a good idea. By pointing…

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Preprints and a problem with academic publishing

Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering
This is the 250th post on the Theory, Evolutionary, and Games Group Blog. And although my posting pace has slowed in recent months, I see this as a milestone along the continuing road of open science. And I want to take this post as an opportunity to make some comments on open science. To get this far, I’ve relied on a lot of help and encouragement. Both directly from all the wonderful guest posts and…

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Thoughts for the class of 2021

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
Last week, I saw someone ask a very simple question on Facebook: “If you could give one piece of advice to those starting undergrad next week, what would it be?” The comments were interesting. Several people mentioned how grades, while positioned as the be-all and end-all during undergrad, are not a reflection of your worth or ability as a person. The advice that grades are important, so work hard and do your best, but do…

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Five for fighting, three to six for mumps: Controlling disease outbreaks in the NHL (Part 2)

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
Editorial note: This piece was co-written by Atif Kukaswadia, PhD, and Ary Maharaj, M.Ed. Atif is a writer for the Public Health Perspectives blog on the PLOS network, and Ary is a writer for Silver Seven, an SBNation blog about the Ottawa Senators hockey team. This piece is being cross-published on both platforms. Enjoy! CHALLENGES The environment within NHL clubs are relatively controlled, with most players together a majority of the time — from on-ice,…

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Five for fighting, three to six for mumps: Controlling disease outbreaks in the NHL (Part 1)

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
Editorial note: This piece was co-written by Atif Kukaswadia, PhD, and Ary Maharaj, M.Ed. Atif is a writer for the Public Health Perspectives blog on the PLOS network, and Ary is a writer for Silver Seven, an SBNation blog about the Ottawa Senators hockey team. This piece is being cross-published on both platforms. Enjoy! INTRODUCTION When we think of places for disease outbreaks, a few examples quickly come to mind: classrooms, college dorms, crowded trains.…

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Spatializing the Go-vs-Grow game with the Ohtsuki-Nowak transform

Theory, Evolution, and Games Group bloggers Biology and Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Technology and Engineering
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about small projects to get students started with evolutionary game theory. One idea that came to mind is to look at games that have been analyzed in the inviscid regime then ‘spatialize’ them and reanalyze them. This is usually not difficult to do and provides some motivation to solving for and making sense of the dynamic regimes of a game. And it is not always pointless, for example, our…

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Mark Zuckerberg supports universal basic income

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
Last week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg received an honorary degree from Harvard University. At the commencement, he promoted the idea of a basic income guarantee, joining several other tech leaders in advocating for this idea. Tech leaders can see a world where robots and AI are doing a lot of work currently performed by humans, and so are already considering how those who lose their jobs will be retrained for the new economy that emerges.…

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Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional monologue about his newborn son’s heart surgery

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
“I have a story to tell about something that happened to our family last week.” With those words, Jimmy Kimmel opened his show. Using a combination of vulnerability and humour, he told us about the last two weeks in the Kimmel household, starting with the birth of his son: William “Billy” Kimmel. A few hours after the birth, a nurse noticed that the baby had a faint heart murmur, and was slightly blue. The baby…

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Income inequality and determinants of health in the US

Atif Communication, Education and Outreach, Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science, Mathematics and Statistics
A series published in The Lancet recently investigated the effect of income inequality on the health of Americans. While incomes for those in the top have grown, extreme poverty has also grown in the US. In fact, more than 1.6 million households in the US survive on less than $2 per day; a number double that of the 1990s. The cycle is not likely to be broken either, barring major social change. Differences in aspects…

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