A Visual Guide to Cognitive Bias You’re biased. I’m biased. We’re all biased when it comes to thinking, remembering, being social, and making decisions. Understanding the different cognitive biases we have can help us design and interpret experiments, interact with each other, and make healthy, rational choices. Probability and Game Theory in The Hunger Games | Wired Science This is a guest post by Michael A. Lewis (PDF), a friend of mine who is a professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. One of the things I found most interesting and surprising about the movie The Hunger Games (HG) is how mathematical it is. The basic premise of the story is that there is a society in what used to be North America made up of a centralized capital and 12 outer districts. Seventy-four years ago the districts staged an uprising against the capital which was violently put down. As punishment for this transgression, every year each of the districts must send one boy and one girl (it’s not clear what would happen to transgendered persons in this world) to take part in the Hunger Games. Let’s focus on two mathematical aspects of the movie: the lottery probabilities, and the game theory of sleeping. The way districts choose which boy and girl to send to the capital for the Hunger Games is by lot. Now let’s consider some of the complications.
When markets fail A repeating narrative during this crisis is that fiscal austerity is required in order to satisfy the “markets”, that amorphous collective of bond traders, gamblers, speculators, crooks and whatever else. The regular threats coming from the ratings agencies (those crooks who lied to investors in order to make profits via cosy deals with the originators of the “assets”) reinforce the idea that markets are the “regulators” of good judgement. Economics students are taught that one of the imperatives of government is to deregulate in order to allow the market signals to be clear and strong so we can act in accordance with the “markets” judgement of prudence. It is a paradigm built on a myth. Markets fail and easily become corrupted and arenas where criminals dominate. The signals they send are also deeply flawed and should not be acted upon. … simply means that those from whom the state borrows can have absolute confidence that it will meet its obligations to repay, come what may. What? 1.
A Taxonomy of Reflection: Critical Thinking For Students, Teachers, and Principals (Part I) My approach to staff development (and teaching) borrows from the thinking of Donald Finkel who believed that teaching should be thought of as "providing experience, provoking reflection." He goes on to write, ... to reflectively experience is to make connections within the details of the work of the problem, to see it through the lens of abstraction or theory, to generate one's own questions about it, to take more active and conscious control over understanding. ~ From Teaching With Your Mouth Shut Over the last few years I've led many teachers and administrators on classroom walkthroughs designed to foster a collegial conversation about teaching and learning. In an effort to help schools become more reflective learning environments, I've developed this "Taxonomy of Reflection." - modeled on Bloom's approach. 1. See my Prezi tour of the Taxonomy It's very much a work in progress, and I invite your comments and suggestions. A Taxonomy of Lower to Higher Order Reflection
Quantum game theory Quantum game theory is an extension of classical game theory to the quantum domain. It differs from classical game theory in three primary ways: Superposed initial states,Quantum entanglement of initial states,Superposition of strategies to be used on the initial states. This theory is based on the physics of information much like quantum computing. Superposed initial states[edit] Entangled initial states[edit] The set of qubits which are initially provided to each of the players (to be used to convey their choice of strategy) may be entangled. Superposition of strategies to be used on initial states[edit] The job of a player in a game is to choose a strategy. Multiplayer games[edit] Introducing quantum information into multiplayer games allows a new type of equilibrium strategy which is not found in traditional games. See also[edit] References[edit] Notes Bibliography External links[edit]
Solving Rational Equations: Introduction Solving Rational Equations: Introduction (page 1 of 3) While adding and subtracting rational expressions is a royal pain, solving rational equations is much simpler. (Note that I don't say that it's "simple", just that it's "simpler".) This is because, as soon as you go from a rational expression (with no "equals" sign in it) to a rational equation (with an "equals" sign in the middle), you get a whole different set of tools to work with. In particular, you can multiply through on both sides of the equation to get rid of the denominators. Solve the following equation: This equation is so simple that I can solve it just by looking at it: since I have two-thirds equal to x-thirds, clearly x = 2. x = 2 Solve the following equation: To solve this, I can convert to a common denominator of 15: Now I can compare the numerators: x – 1 = 6 x = 7 Note, however, that I could also have solved this by multiplying through on both sides by the common denominator: x – 1 = 2(3) x – 1 = 6 x = 7 x = 4/3
Inference | Classroom Strategies Language Arts The Question-Answer Relationship strategy helps students understand the different types of questions. By learning that the answers to some questions are "Right There" in the text, that some answers require a reader to "Think and Search," and that some answers can only be answered "On My Own," students recognize that they must first consider the question before developing an answer.See Question-Answer Relationship strategy > Into the Book has an interactive activity that helps young children learn about inferring. Riddles are one way to practice inferential thinking skills because successful readers make guesses based on what they read and what they already know. BrainPop offers several activities for teaching inference, and they offer resources for teachers and parents.See inference activities > Math Pre-K–2 Expectations: In pre-K through grade 2, all students should discuss events related to students' experiences as "likely" or "unlikely." Science Social Studies
A tale of two qubits: how quantum computers work Quantum information is the physics of knowledge. To be more specific, the field of quantum information studies the implications that quantum mechanics has on the fundamental nature of information. By studying this relationship between quantum theory and information, it is possible to design a new type of computer—a quantum computer. A largescale, working quantum computer—the kind of quantum computer some scientists think we might see in 50 years—would be capable of performing some tasks impossibly quickly. To date, the two most promising uses for such a device are quantum search and quantum factoring. Although quantum search is impressive, quantum factoring algorithms pose a legitimate, considerable threat to security. Quantum computers are fundamentally different from classical computers because the physics of quantum information is also the physics of possibility. Single qubits. Pairs of qubits. Quantum physics 101. How do they work? Is the polarization horizontal or vertical?
the capitalist network that runs the world - physics-math - 19 October 2011 AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy. The study's assumptions have attracted some criticism, but complex systems analysts contacted by New Scientist say it is a unique effort to untangle control in the global economy. Pushing the analysis further, they say, could help to identify ways of making global capitalism more stable. The idea that a few bankers control a large chunk of the global economy might not seem like news to New York's Occupy Wall Street movement and protesters elsewhere (see photo). "Reality is so complex, we must move away from dogma, whether it's conspiracy theories or free-market," says James Glattfelder. The Zurich team can. So, the super-entity may not result from conspiracy. 1. (Data: PLoS One)