#and math and science are different options in this poll

[winteryserpent]

I can't answer this one because I more or less liked them equally. If you included PE, I could've answered but I was pretty good at all the academic subjects.

(Well if you listed performing art separate from visual art, I could say performing art because of how my high school set up chorus and band which resulted me in quitting. But I chose to do visual art electives and enjoyed them a lot.)

Not giving more subjects because I want to know between the compulsory ones. And I'm not including PE because I have a feeling it would win very easily.

Also, before anyone mentions, I am aware that this poll is based off of the American school system and is not universal. But even if your school system did not work like this, pick a subject you didn't like that's on that list

[ozy-short-for-ozone-layer]

Over at discord I changed my username a lot (Inspired by that one tumblr user who changed their name a lot on skype which I now cannot find) and here's my favorites from the over 51 usernames I've used so far...

assume I replace the spaces with dashes lol and what not

[vixensdungeon]

Alright kids, time for more science. Let's see if this shakes things up a bit more than the last one. Welcome to the 90s, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. There are again several ways to generate your ability scores. A major difference from 1st Edition is that some of these are just obviously more powerful than others.

Method I: 3d6 straight down the line. The books devote a weird amount of page space justifying this one. Best not to go into character generation with any preconceptions about what you'll play.

Method II: A slight upgrade from Method I, you roll 3d6 twice for each ability, keeping the highest total. You're mostly still letting the dice choose your character for you.

Method III: 3d6, but now you get to arrange them! You have more control over what you'll play, but good luck getting into the "elite" ones like paladin.

Method IV: 3d6 twelve times, pick the six highest and arrange as you like. Someone else will have to do the math on how this compares to the next one.

Method V: Again we have today's standard method, 4d6 (drop lowest) arranged as you please. Will it dominate the poll again?

Method VI: Now we're getting into almost the realm of point-buy. You start each ability at 8, then roll 7d6 and assign the results to your ability scores as you choose. You can't go over 18, though! So unless you rolled two 5's or a 4 and a 6, you can't have that hallowed number.

Player's Option: Skills & Powers added a bunch of new ones later.

Method VII: Point-buy is here. You have 75 points to spread between your abilities, making sure none are below 3 or above 8, and are within the limits of whatever race and class you've picked.

Method VIII: You get 24d6 to assign among your ability scores, no less than 3d6 and no more than 6d6 to each ability. Than you roll them and keep the three highest of each roll. This allows you to go for a certain class but doesn't guarantee it.

Method IX: Point-buy but with variability. You first roll on a table to see how many points you have to spend, but also what your maximum score is. Higher point totals allow for lower maximums!

Method X: This is just Method VII but it calls the points character points and allows warriors to spend points to get exceptional Strength. I'm really not sure what the point of it is unless you're playing a warrior class, and even then I might use VII and just hope for a good roll on exceptional Strength.

[ideasmarketing]

AI VideoBooks Review— The Ultimate Video Book Creation Tool

Introduction:

Greetings and welcome to my AI VideoBooks Review! Today, I’m excited to introduce you to a groundbreaking advancement in storytelling and education — AI VideoBooks. By combining the power of artificial intelligence with interactive visuals, these state-of-the-art technology takes literature to a whole new level.

AI VideoBooks seamlessly blend storytelling, education, and entertainment into a vibrant experience that deeply engages readers. These innovative books represent the convergence of artificial intelligence, narrative creation, and digital publishing. With just a few simple commands, users can create compelling video-based books across various genres and languages.

Whether you’re interested in crafting immersive storybooks, educational materials, game-based narratives, or visually stunning content for children, the versatility of AI VideoBooks knows no bounds. If you’re eager to explore these groundbreaking innovations further, I invite you to join me as we delve into the detailed features and benefits in my comprehensive AI VideoBooks Review below.

AI VideoBooks is an innovative solution that takes publishing to the next level in today’s ever-evolving digital landscape. By seamlessly integrating technology and creativity, AI VideoBooks revolutionizes content consumption and interaction.

Utilizing artificial intelligence, this groundbreaking tool creates immersive 3D animated video books that captivate readers. With an intuitive interface, users can effortlessly enhance their ebooks with a wide range of interactive features.

By combining the traditional pleasure of reading with the excitement of interactive media, AI VideoBooks transforms text into captivating video stories. These stories come to life through features such as read-aloud narration and synchronized text highlighting, making them accessible to children and visual learners while enhancing the overall reading experience.

Authors, publishers, educational institutions, and businesses can greatly benefit from this invaluable asset in engaging their audiences with dynamic reading materials. Furthermore, these materials are compatible with various devices and platforms, ensuring widespread accessibility for readers everywhere.

AI VideoBooks offers a wide range of book types, from educational materials in subjects like science and math to more creative endeavors such as AI story video books and interactive game books. This flexibility allows creators to explore different genres and customize content to suit specific audience needs.

With a suite of advanced features, creating interactive eBooks is an effortless process. Authors can seamlessly integrate audio, video, quizzes, and polls to create a unique interactive experience that resonates with readers.

To enhance the reader’s experience, AI VideoBooks also integrates social media platforms, allowing readers to share their experiences. Additionally, the platform includes tools such as forms, polls, and quizzes to gather valuable feedback.

Furthermore, AI VideoBooks provides robust tools for managing and tracking user engagement through analytics and reporting. It also offers comprehensive support for eBook publishing, including security options and hosting services.

Vision:

The future of storytelling and education! In the realm of AI VideoBooks, a revolutionary fusion of artificial intelligence and interactive visuals awaits you. Imagine seamlessly blending the joy of reading with the excitement of interactive media, transcending traditional literature into captivating video stories. Picture a world where you, as an author, educator, or content creator, have the power to effortlessly craft immersive and engaging experiences across various genres and languages.

AI VideoBooks isn’t just a tool; it’s a gateway to limitless creativity. Envision effortlessly transforming ordinary text, PDFs, or images into extraordinary video books that come alive with 3D animated visuals and interactive features. Whether you’re delving into educational materials, game-based narratives, or visually stunning content for children, the versatility of AI VideoBooks knows no bounds.

In this groundbreaking era of digital publishing, AI VideoBooks stands out for its user-friendly design, emphasis on interactivity, customization capabilities, and versatile formatting options. Picture yourself enhancing your creations with unique sound and musical enhancements, stunning fonts, and captivating visuals. The platform opens doors for collaboration, ensuring a smooth experience for authors, educators, and students alike.

Imagine the joy of sharing your creations effortlessly on major platforms like Amazon KDP, Google Books, and Etsy, reaching audiences far and wide. Picture the security and protection of your content through DRM security and password protection, ensuring a safe and enriching reading experience both online and offline.

As we embark on this journey through the AI VideoBooks Review, envision a world where learning knows no bounds. The platform’s compatibility with learning management systems and comprehensive analytics tools paints a picture of an educational experience that is not just informative but also interactive and adaptive.

For those considering AI VideoBooks, see it as more than a tool — it’s a companion in your creative journey. Embrace the innovation, user-friendliness, and accessibility it offers, but remember, your unique voice and creativity are the true keys to success. Imagine the possibilities, explore the features, and join us in unlocking the future of digital content creation. Your story begins here with AI VideoBooks!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Akshat Gupta is a highly respected and accomplished software provider in the industry. Known for his commitment to creating top-notch products at unbeatable prices, he has built a solid reputation on platforms like Jvzoo and Warriorplus.

Throughout his career, Akshat has released numerous successful products, such as AI AppMaker, ExplainerVideoz, and AvatarJam. In this review, we will dive into his latest creation and examine its exceptional features and capabilities in greater depth. Stay tuned for the next sections of this comprehensive AI VideoBooks review.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth exploration of the powerful capabilities of AI VideoBooks as we delve further into this review!

OVERVIEW:

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KEY FEATURES:

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Elevate your video books with a range of music and sound effects to enhance their appeal and captivate readers’ attention…

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This feature allows you to enrich your ebooks with captivating fonts, including AI gradients and colors, making your creations stand out from the crowd…

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AI VideoBooks has received widespread acclaim in various industries:

✅ User-Friendly Design:

Our platform is designed to be accessible and user-friendly, catering to individuals with varying levels of technical proficiency. The intuitive interface is supported by a wealth of resources, including comprehensive guides, tutorials, and a dedicated customer service team.

✅ Emphasis on Interactivity:

What sets us apart is our unwavering focus on interactivity. Our platform offers an array of tools that allow users to incorporate quizzes, audio clips, videos, and games into their ebooks. This not only enhances reader engagement but also creates an immersive reading experience like no other.

✅ Customization Capabilities:

Personalizing ebooks has never been easier with AI VideoBooks. Users have the freedom to choose from a diverse selection of templates and adjust layouts, fonts, and color schemes to create truly unique and stylish ebooks.

✅ Versatile Formatting Options:

AI VideoBooks caters to diverse formatting preferences by seamlessly integrating multimedia elements such as images and animations. Additionally, users can select from a range of formats to meet specific requirements.

✅ Collaboration Features:

We understand the importance of collaboration in producing exceptional digital content. That’s why AI VideoBooks enables users to collaborate on projects effortlessly. This feature is particularly beneficial for authors, educators, and students working on group assignments as it allows for specific permissions for different collaborators.

✅ Cross-Platform Compatibility:

The content created on our platform can be exported in over 12 different formats, ensuring compatibility across desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This guarantees that your audience can access your content seamlessly regardless of their preferred device.

At AI VideoBooks, we strive to provide you with an unparalleled ebook creation experience that combines functionality with creativity. Join us today and unlock the limitless possibilities for your digital content!

🔒 Secure Protection:

In the midst of an era plagued by digital piracy, AI VideoBooks prioritizes robust security measures. Our platform employs DRM security and password protection to ensure the safety of your ebooks.

With AI VideoBooks, you can effortlessly deliver online and offline content while preserving interactive qualities. We aim to provide learning opportunities anytime, anywhere, revolutionizing traditional educational methods and enriching the overall learning experience.

Other features:

📥 Easy Import of Existing Manuscripts:

Effortlessly import manuscripts in various formats such as PDF, HTML, Word, or EPUB and enhance them with interactive elements.

✍️ Advanced Editing Tools:

For users seeking more comprehensive editing capabilities on our platform, we offer advanced tools that utilize HTML, JS, and CSS.

🎧 Seamless Audio Synchronization:

Immerse yourself in an interactive reading experience by synchronizing text with audio files. Watch as words are highlighted while they’re narrated.

🎓 Compatibility with Learning Management Systems (LMS):

AI VideoBooks seamlessly integrates with popular learning management systems, including Blackboard, Moodle, and Edmodo. This integration is achieved through SCORM, LTI, or Tin Can compatibility, allowing for a smooth and efficient educational and training experience.

📊 Comprehensive Analytics Tools:

AI VideoBooks provides powerful analytics tools to help you monitor user engagement, track progress, and assess the effectiveness of your ebooks. These tools offer valuable insights into the performance of your content and enable data-driven decision-making.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q1: Are video books available in languages other than English?

A: Yes, AI VideoBooks supports multiple languages, allowing you to create video books in your desired language.

Q2: Can I sell my video books on platforms other than Amazon Kindle, Google Books, and Etsy?

A: While AI VideoBooks primarily supports these platforms, you may explore alternative channels for selling your video books based on the provided file formats.

Q3: Is there a limitation on the number of video books I can create and sell?

A: The commercial license included with AI VideoBooks provides the flexibility to create and sell unlimited video books to your clients.

Q4: Can I personalize the visuals and animations in my video books?

A: AI VideoBooks generates visuals and animations based on the specified keywords; however, customization options are available within the platform to enhance visual appeal.

Q5: Is AI VideoBooks suitable for beginners?

A: Absolutely! AI VideoBooks features a user-friendly interface and an intuitive dashboard, making it accessible even for beginners. The drag-and-drop functionality and customizable options simplify the process of creating captivating video books.

Q6: Can I utilize AI VideoBooks for educational purposes?

A: Certainly! AI VideoBooks offers a wide range of book categories, including educational materials. You can create engaging and vibrant video books to facilitate learning and captivate students.

Q7: Is there any possibility of additional fees or recurring charges?

A: Rest assured, AI VideoBooks provides a one-time payment option that excludes any hidden fees or recurring charges. Upon acquiring the AI VideoBooks package, you gain complete access to all its features and advantages without incurring any extra costs.

Q8: Am I able to utilize my personal voice for the read-aloud narration?

A: At present, AI VideoBooks leverages its advanced AI technology for read-aloud narration. However, it is worth noting that future updates may introduce options for voice customization on the platform.

Bottom line:

Based on my personal experience, working with AI VideoBooks has been nothing short of exceptional. The intuitive nature of their AI VideoBooks Author software has made the creation process both enjoyable and efficient. Additionally, their responsive development team ensures a seamless experience throughout. For anyone looking to create educational or marketing ebooks, AI VideoBooks is an ideal choice.

AI VideoBooks is a valuable tool for individuals seeking to enter the digital publishing field without requiring extensive skills or resources. It serves as an equalizer, allowing content creation to be accessible to a broader audience. Nevertheless, it is crucial for users to familiarize themselves with the competitive landscape and understand the significance of producing unique and high-quality content in order to succeed.

In my personal opinion, as a content creator, I greatly appreciate the innovation and user-friendliness that AI VideoBooks brings. It represents a significant advancement in digital publishing, particularly for those lacking a strong design or technical background.

However, I would advise prospective users to view AI VideoBooks as a means of supplementing creativity rather than replacing it altogether. The true value lies in utilizing the platform to create compelling and distinctive content.

AI VideoBooks is much more than just a passing trend. It provides modern content creators with a valuable blend of efficient AI-powered tools and creative adaptability. While it may not guarantee instant profitability, it serves as a substantial asset for individuals eager to explore the ever-evolving realm of digital publishing.

By acting promptly, you can take advantage of the vendor’s generous bonuses along with my exclusive bonuses featured in the final section of this thorough AI VideoBooks Review!

[anumberofcatschilling]

Poll finished. Tagging @aromanticsky (wasn't sure whether or not to do so because I didn't really explicitly say what liking the post before the poll finished would do, but you get a bunch of rambling about a creation of mine). Consensus kinda got it, depending on which of the two winning options you judge consensus to be. The short of it is that Char was into Undertale at some point in their life and does question their humanity during Do While, but they didn't get a CS degree before the Advent.

Gushing about Watsonian and Doylist explanations below the cut

For the Watsonian explanations for each of these, or rather, the explanation for each of these in universe, it follows as so:

Char questions their humanity during the events of the main comic because they're part machine, once fully human but debatably human now. Other identities they've held since before the modification (e.g. aromantic, autistic, nb, furry) play some role in their disconnect from humanity as they've experienced it, but the modification feels too different (never mind that the identity crisis is happening in the middle of a time loop after a memory wipe).

Char being into Undertale at some point in their life isn't that remarkable except for the name they've picked for themselves and them playing a flower in a ttrpg once. Char as a name has some overlap with Chara, the default name given to the fallen human in Undertale, in that both are shortened forms of the word character. Char is also a primitive type in the programming language Java, which ties some into the next point...

Char was planning on getting a CS degree after high school, but due to not getting into the program initially at their university of choice, their passion for it faltered and they ended up getting a math degree instead (which is also kind of close to CS, in my opinion).

The Doylist explanations, or the "why did the author make this decision" explanations, aren't as exciting. Char's part machine because of one scenario where I cornered this undeveloped character into an inescapable situation involving trying (and failing) to stall a generic rogue AI with a paradox, and the question came up of "oh, I want to do this scene next, but it can't be after and I don't know how I could put it before" and the answer that came to me was a time loop, and then the next step was to explore the question of "do the loops have to be indexed in base-ten?". I didn't have a name for Char until many loops in, but decided on Char because of the aforementioned primitive type and built the Undertale interest off of it. The whole thing with a math degree instead of a CS degree is because of one loop where...I'll just call it the Math loop (nominally Loop 32, but this is more the 50th loop because of hexadecimal), and the details of how someone with a math degree in the twenty-second century could have some knowledge of computer science were lifted from my life (so, this might qualify for the "someone making art that's weirdly accurate about their field of work").

Inspired by @aromanticsky, for the one OC I can muster up the focus for (and whom I probably haven't talked about too much)

Debating whether or not to tag the one person I know I've talked about this with elsewhere.

[lesegames669]

How to connect your pc to your tv for gaming

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[lthmath]

Recently we have been reorganizing our LThMath Book Club. The whole idea behind it is to read and discuss books with other people. We are happy that the Goodreads Club is steadily growing. We also have a Facebook Group with the same idea as the Goodreads one. Hope you all enjoy the idea. Due to this change, we cannot do just a Goodreads poll for the bi-monthly book. Therefor, we decided to do a survey (created using Google forms). In this way more people can vote for the book. If you want to vote, you need to do it HERE.

“Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension: A Mathematician’s Journey Through Narcissistic Numbers, Optimal Dating Algorithms, at Least Two Kinds of Infinity, and More” by Matt Parker*

In the absorbing and exhilarating Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, Parker sets out to convince his readers to revisit the very math that put them off the subject as fourteen-year-olds. Starting with the foundations of math familiar from school (numbers, geometry, and algebra), he takes us on a grand tour, from four dimensional shapes, knot theory, the mysteries of prime numbers, optimization algorithms, and the math behind barcodes and iPhone screens to the different kinds of infinity ― and slightly beyond. Both playful and sophisticated, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension is filled with captivating games and puzzles, a buffet of optional hands-on activities that entice us to take pleasure in mathematics at all levels. Parker invites us to relearn much of what baffled us in school and, this time, to be utterly enthralled by it.

“The Music of the Primes: Why an unsolved problem in mathematics matters” by Marcus du Sautoy*

Prime numbers are the very atoms of arithmetic. They also embody one of the most tantalising enigmas in the pursuit of human knowledge. How can one predict when the next prime number will occur? Is there a formula which could generate primes? These apparently simple questions have confounded mathematicians ever since the Ancient Greeks.

In this breathtaking book, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy tells the story of the eccentric and brilliant men who have struggled to solve one of the biggest mysteries in science. It is a story of strange journeys, last-minute escapes from death and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Above all, it is a moving and awe-inspiring evocation of the mathematician’s world and the beauties and mysteries it contains.

“A Brief History of Infinity” by Brian Clegg*

Infinity is a concept that fascinates everyone from a seven-year-old child to a maths professor. An exploration of the most mind-boggling feature of maths and physics, this work examines amazing paradoxes and looks at many features of this fascinating concept.

“Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception” by Charles Seife*

“Proofiness,” as Charles Seife explains in this eye-opening book, is the art of using pure mathematics for impure ends, and he reminds readers that bad mathematics has a dark side. It is used to bring down beloved government officials and to appoint undeserving ones (both Democratic and Republican), to convict the innocent and acquit the guilty, to ruin our economy, and to fix the outcomes of future elections. This penetrating look at the intersection of math and society will appeal to readers of Freakonomics and the books of Malcolm Gladwell.

“The Proof Is in the Pudding: The Changing Nature of Mathematical Proof” by Steven G. Krantz*

This text explores the many transformations that the mathematical proof has undergone from its inception to its versatile, present-day use, considering the advent of high-speed computing machines. Though there are many truths to be discovered in this book, by the end it is clear that there is no formalized approach or standard method of discovery to date. Most of the proofs are discussed in detail with figures and equations accompanying them, allowing both the professional mathematician and those less familiar with mathematics to derive the same joy from reading this book.

“How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking” byJordan Ellenberg*

How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind some interesting questions, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman — minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God.

Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

“Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” by Douglas R. Hofstadter*

Douglas Hofstadter’s book is concerned directly with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.

“How to Cut a Cake: And Other Mathematical Conundrums” by Ian Stewart*

Welcome back to Ian Stewart’s magical world of mathematics! Here are twenty more curious puzzles and fantastical mathematical stories from one of the world’s most popular and accessible writers on mathematics. This is a strange world of never-ending chess games, empires on the moon, furious fireflies, and, of course, disputes over how best to cut a cake. Each chapter–with titles such as, “How to Play Poker By Post” and “Repealing the Law of Averages”–presents a fascinating mathematical puzzle that is challenging, fun, and introduces the reader to a significant mathematical problem in an engaging and witty way. Illustrated with clever and quirky cartoons, each tale will delight those who love puzzles and mathematical conundrums.

“The Mathematical Tourist: New & Updated Snapshots of Modern Mathematics” by Ivars Peterson*

In the first edition of The Mathematical Tourist, renowned science journalist Ivars Peterson took readers on an unforgettable tour through the sometimes bizarre, but always fascinating, landscape of modern mathematics. Now the journey continues in a new, updated edition that includes all the latest information on mathematical proofs, fractals, prime numbers, chaos and much more. Blazing a trail through rows of austere symbols and dense lines of formulae, Peterson explores the central ideas behind the work of professional mathematicians– how and where their pieces of the mathematical puzzle fit in, the sources of their ideas, their fountains of inspiration, and the images that carry them from one discovery to another.

We hope this helped you decide what book you would like to read in August – September with us. Hope you liked this post. Have a great day. You can find us on Facebook,  Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. We will try to post there as often as possible.

Lots of love and don’t forget that maths is everywhere! Enjoy!

*This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

February – March Book Choice Recently we have been reorganizing our LThMath Book Club. The whole idea behind it is to read and discuss books with other people.

[sfnewsvine]

Georgia First Day of Early Voting Smashes Midterm Record

It’s a maxim identified across the nation. The extra individuals who vote, the higher for Democrats. There’s a motive Republicans hit voter I.D. exhausting, took away alternatives like “Souls to the Polls,” and different means to make voting straightforward. Democrats are likely to have an obstacle within the mid-terms (very typically) as a result of fewer individuals vote total. However from this morning’s announcement of the primary day of early voting in Georgia, a document variety of individuals voted. It is a nice signal. From The Atlanta Journal-Structure: The primary day of early voting in Georgia set a brand new midterm turnout document, with practically 123,000 in-person voters casting their ballots, an early signal of sturdy curiosity on this 12 months’s elections. *From Tuesday’s Morning Joe, the quantity has been up to date to 131,000. Turnout on Monday far exceeded the final midterms in 2018, when about 71,000 individuals confirmed up initially of early voting, in response to state election knowledge. The quick begin put Georgia on tempo to surpass the three.9 million voters who forged ballots 4 years in the past, although turnout seems unlikely to succeed in the 5 million voters who participated within the 2020 presidential election. After all, lots of Republicans jumped on this primary day. The Senate and gubernatorial races are hotly contested and have the nation’s consideration. However once more, the maxim will maintain. The extra individuals who vote, the higher for Democrats. It’s attention-grabbing. Michael Moore was one of many few who precisely predicted a Trump victory in 2016, and he made the prediction very early within the race. Simply seven days in the past, Moore predicted a “blue tsunami,” largely based mostly on a heavy voter turnout not factored into most polls and predictions. From the Washington Examiner: The 68-year-old outspoken leftist believes voters will “descend upon the polls en masse — a literal overwhelming, unprecedented tsunami of voters — and nonviolently, legally, and with out mercy take away each final stinking traitor to our Democracy,” in accordance to a report on michaelmoore.com. No less than in Georgia, the voters are descending to the polls en masse in an unprecedented quantity. And the extra individuals vote, the extra the dynamic favors the Democrats. @JasonMiciak believes a day with out studying is a day not lived. He’s a political author, options author, writer, and legal professional. He’s a Canadian-born twin citizen who spent his teen and faculty years within the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a younger lady, writing from the seashores of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and at present research philosophy of science, faith, and non-math rules behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please be happy to contact for talking engagements or any considerations. Supply hyperlink Originally published at SF Newsvine

[jayisabells]

Not good with math or stats, but I am deeply interested in stats.

In this case since we are not flipping a fair coin (ie coin that is not predisposed for one option), I would say this poll is unreliable in testing whether or not two options are fair.

Humans are biased and as well as there being outside influence on which to pick from (ex: tags saying which option needs more votes).

This has 16,635 votes, much more than necessary for a good sample size, but human bias is not 'fair' like a coin.

For example, in relation to science, you can not test a hypothesis that a red ball will be faster than a green ball, if there is a person throwing the ball. It will be inconsistent because a person can not throw a ball in the same exact manner everytime; however, a machine can.

So if you need a random answer, using a fair coin is the only way to do so without chances of inconsistency and/or bias.

This would be different if the sample size is trying to determine, for example, if there is an association between the region where someone lives and their preference of which side of a coin. You need a random sample, and lets say we are sampling tumblr users in the USA and the regions we have set are north and south. So we randomly select users (or share this) with users spread throughout the US. They select their answer and then we determine that 58% of users selected tails and of those 58%, 70% are from Southern US. Which is a significant amount. And then we can say there is an association between whether you live in north or south US and your preference of side on a coin (heads or tails).

PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I GOT ANYTHING WRONG ITS BEEN 2 YEARS SINCE IVE DONE STATS

And always remember correlation does not equal causation

And don't think I won't hypothesis test you lot

(if you could pass this on to give this dork who wants to do statistics for no good reason the sample size he oh so craves it'd be appreciated)

[beatrixedercoaching]

Your Daily Word Of Inclusiveness | Beatrix Eder Coaching

                      How to speak an inclusive language

Recently I conducted a brief poll on LinkedIn (https://lnkd.in/gTDaKPs) asking the professional community what they experience as their biggest challenge to implementing Inclusive Leadership.

First of all, I want to thank all the people who have taken a moment to participate and many of them continued the conversation in public comments and private messages.

Challenges to practicing Inclusive Leadership

The intention of the poll was to see the overall perception and get a sense of what makes it difficult for people to practice inclusiveness. Most people today are exposed to working with others across differences of gender, race, generation, language, culture, beliefs and personal orientations. Many of the multinational organizations are convinced that diversity is not just political correctness but a business imperative and many have defined concrete goals around diversity such as having more women in leadership positions, reviewing practices around hiring people from a more diverse pool of talent or decrease pay disparities.

The poll gave four options as main obstacles to implementing Inclusive Leadership:

No alignment with business strategy

Not embedded in daily actions

Lacking accountability

Recognizing subtle bias

Embedding inclusive practices in daily actions

The biggest difficulty appears to be around embedding inclusive practices in daily actions followed by recognizing subtle bias.

The reason for this is that among the well-meaning company policies and intentions of creating an inclusive workplace, there is little cohesion on how this should look in daily actions between employees. Taking a closer look, it becomes clear that most people have only a vague idea what inclusiveness means, how we can recognize it and how we experience it.

Having a clear definition around concepts shows what is truly important about the concept and allows for a common understanding by many people. Only when an organization is able to make a statement about the fundamental nature of “inclusiveness”, are they able to measure it, incentivize it and build it into the corporate culture at all hierarchical levels.

How can we expect people to practice something consistently if there are vague or different definitions of what they should be doing?

Inclusiveness: leverage the diversity of the group

Being inclusive means effectively working, communicating and building relationships with people across differences in regards to gender, generation, race, language, religion / beliefs, sexual orientation and abilities. Being inclusive means seeing these differences as valuable qualities of each individual’s identity and giving each individual the same opportunities. Inclusive leadership involves inviting different people, engaging everyone to participate, listening to their views and valuing the differences.

Inclusive leaders direct, guide and influence people in a more curious, collaborative, creative and compassionate way in order to leverage the diversity of the group and achieve a common goal with more creativity and effectiveness.

Diversity is the metric. Inclusion is the mechanism. Engagement is the feeling.

Practicing a few habits consciously, consistently and in a way that is observable to others makes you the inclusive leader that you are and aspire to be. As a general attitude, you can

proactively seek out others different from yourself,

learn about their perspectives with genuine curiosity

value differences and consider how each of these differences help finding better solutions.

Creating such an environment helps that people feel accepted, welcome, heard and valued - and this is the felt experience of inclusion. The result of this felt experience is engagement, which means that people are emotionally connected to the workplace and the coworkers. Engagement is what drives people to give their best and keeps them loyal to the company.

As with most things, being inclusive becomes easier with ongoing practice. For this, people need

Information to continuously educate themselves on notions around their cultural blueprint, their relationship to power / rank / privilege and competencies how these differences can be bridged in a way that is enriching

Awareness of themselves as individuals and as players in their social environment

Commitment to be deliberate in their choices and courageous in their actions.

Acts of micro-inclusion

If you want to bridge the gap between inclusion as rhetoric and concrete actions, you need to open your eyes and ears to situations where differences show up. Each one of us encounters these situations several times a day, so there are plenty of opportunities to practice. When you go about your day with an attitude of curiosity and compassion, observing situations not only from your own perspective but that of people different from you, you will recognize many occasions that wait for you to show up as the inclusive leader you already are and want to be perceived as.

We call these tiny acts of inclusiveness micro-inclusion. Micro-inclusions are the opposite of isolation: they are deliberate acts of connecting with our common humanity, remembering that each one of us has feelings of inadequacy and disappointment. It is the understanding that despite our individual and unique qualities, something connects us and that we all belong to a system that is beyond our individual projects and goals.

6 tips for practicing inclusive language

So what are concrete examples of practicing inclusiveness at work? How can you widen the circle and invite more people inside?

Let’s start with inclusive language. We speak all day and there are several scientific studies that show the impact of the language we use on our thoughts. Words are not just labels but they reveal our perspective. Words have power and they influence our actions – and over time our culture.

Here are 5 tips on how to consciously choose your words to help others feel accepted, welcome, heard and valued.

1) Gender-neutral language

It probably happened at least once or twice that you have addressed your team with “guys”, even though it was a mixed group with women, men and maybe even non-binary people. Using gendered language can exclude those people who do not identify as the gendered expression you have used. A better alternative is to say “Hey, team / everyone / friends / folks”.

2) Alternative pronouns

We tend to use “he /his” as generic pronouns which implicitly tells us that the person referred to is a male. In English, you can use “they / their” as singular generic pronoun to show that all people are included, independently of their gender or identity. Example: Instead of “Each employee is welcome to share his or her thoughts” you can say “Each employee is welcome to share their thoughts”.

3) Simple vocabulary and clear pronunciation when speaking with non-native speakers

When you are a native English speaker and you speak with people whose mother tongue is not English, remember to use common words and avoid idioms or your local slang. I still remember how difficult it was for me the first time I worked with an Australian manager: not only did I have real trouble understanding his accent; he also used words that I had no idea of what they meant. One day he gave me directions to go to a client and said that at a certain street I have to take a “chuck a uey”…. A what? As I learned, “chuck a uey” in Australian means a U-turn!

4) Be conscious about how you qualify people based on their gender

Often, people will attribute different adjectives when they describe the same behavior of a man or a woman. Common examples are being assertive (man) versus bossy (woman), passionate (man) versus hysterical (woman) or empathetic (man) vs emotional (woman), persuasive (man) vs argumentative (woman).

When you describe another person’s behavior or attitude –especially when you perceive it as negative - check in with yourself: Would you use the same word if it was the other gender?

5) Avoid stereotypes, even positive ones

Sometimes people think they are saying a compliment and forget that what they actually voice is a stereotype, generalizing a group of people.

Common examples:

“Women have a natural mothering instinct and are more caring”

“Asians are good at math and science”

“Gay people are generally more sensitive, open-minded and creative”

All these expressions paint a caricature of the person to whom we are referring. When you speak, check-in with yourself if the words you are using have an “all” or “no one” perspective.

6) Avoid words with a negative or passive meaning

Sometimes we use unconsciously words that describe another person as weak. Sometimes we use these expressions to show our compassion. And yet, it is more inclusive and respectful to use neutral or positive words.

Examples:

Instead of “X is suffering from [illness]” say “X has [illness]”

Saying that “X is fighting [illness]” implies that the illness is something that has to conquered and annihilated and people having a specific illness might hear an underlying opinion that they have the illness because they did not fight hard enough / were not strong enough.

Instead of “X was victim of an accident” say “X had an accident”

Use language to include and empower others

The language we speak will give cues about our perspectives and opinions and will influence our relationships with others. Furthermore, using an inclusive language shows our willingness to connect with others on a human level, understand their individual situation and feel for them.

Speaking an inclusive language is an ongoing journey with situations in which we will all make mistakes. As an inclusive leader, own your mistakes and commit to understanding how the background of another person shapes their experience and that we can have a very different interpretation of the same situation.

Will you consciously choose your words to include and empower others?

Will you use at least three times inclusive language at your workplace today?

[rickhorrow]

10 To Watch : Mayor’s Edition 111819

 RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18 : MAYOR’S EDITION

with Jacob Aere

 A draft agreement between Miami-Dade County and the Dolphins would "pay the team at least" $2.5 million a year for bringing a F1 race to Miami Gardens. According to the Miami Herald, the subsidy is "tied to an existing agreement" from 2014 that pays Hard Rock Stadium up to $5.75 million annually for big events. The drafted F1 agreement would "boost that cap" to $7 million, a 20% increase. However, Miami-Dade Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon affirmed the Dolphins "dropped the request for the higher cap." Even without the higher cap, the proposed F1 agreement would make the 2014 agreement a "more reliable source of county revenue" for Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross. The Dolphins "already are allowed" a $1 million payment for the Miami Open tennis tournament. International soccer matches “qualify for a $750,000 payment, while a college football championship brings in $3 million. An annual F1 race would let Ross lock in another $2.5 million more for the yearly allocation allowed under the 2014 agreement.

In a new poll commissioned by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, 77% of voters are for keeping the A's. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, building a privately financed ballpark at the Port of Oakland's Howard Terminal "got the support of 68% of the voters, even if it means setting up a special tax district to pay for infrastructure." The poll also shows that 44% of voters believe the city should “drop its lawsuit over the Coliseum land sale,” compared with 28% who support the lawsuit and 28% with no opinion on the matter." Analytics firm FM3 took a poll of 601 registered voters October 29-November 1 as part of the chamber's annual Pulse of Oakland survey. The poll, "which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%, came as the clock ticked down" on the deadline Major League Baseball set for the city to "drop the suit or risk the A's relocating to another city.” Since the city has lost the Warriors and soon, the Raiders, it’s not surprising that a majority of voters would back keeping its one remaining pro sports team.

 EverFi chants “Let’s Go Lightning.” Last Friday, the Tampa Bay Lightning invited 5,000 middle schoolers from the area to practice as part of their partnership with the Future Goals program from EverFi. The NHL and NHLPA are sponsoring the program that brings hockey into the classroom to explore STEM topics through sports. Future Goals features computer modules aimed at students in third through eighth grades on various topics. “We actually tried to use math and science in our ball hockey stuff,” Vice President of Community Hockey Development Jay Feaster shared with the Tampa Bay Times. “We show angles. If you pass off the boards here, or the different angles in the openings around a goalie.” While some of the students attending the Friday practice were hockey players, EverFi‘s NHL partnership recognizes that even those who don’t play the game have a better time absorbing STEM information through the lens of the sport.

 Black News Channel, the brainchild of former football and political star J.C. Watts, has moved its launch date from November 15 to January 6. The Tallahassee, FL-based network co-founded by former Oklahoma congressman J.C. Watts and TV exec Bob Brillante made the date change to take advantage of new distribution platforms. “If we have the opportunity to include the largest African American audience possible from day one, then that should be our top priority,” said Watts. The network, which offers 24/7 news serving African American viewers, has carriage deals set with Comcast, Charter, and Dish Network, and will be available in TV markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Watts entered the national conversation as a star quarterback for the University of Oklahoma in 1979 and later made a name for himself on Capitol Hill both as a congressman and a lobbyist backing diversity and economic issues still resonating in sports — and elsewhere — today.

WWE and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy have announced that WrestleMania 35 generated $165.4 million in economic impact for the New York/New Jersey region last April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a more than 60 percent increase from the $101.2 million generated for WrestleMania 29 in New York and New Jersey and the eighth consecutive year that WrestleMania generated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region. Over the past 13 years, WrestleMania has now generated more than $1.3 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 35 also generated approximately $27.1 million in federal, state, and local taxes. A sold-out crowd of 82,265 fans from all 50 states and 68 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past April, making it the highest-grossing entertainment event in the history of MetLife Stadium. Next year, WrestleMania 36 will take place Sunday, April 5, from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay and looks to positively impact a hurting sports industry in Tampa Bay.

The National Women’s Hockey League announced that it had closed a new round of equity funding that ensures continued growth for the league for many years to come. According to Cynopsis, the financing was led by insurance and IT entrepreneur Andy Scurto, who now joins a group of more than 20 NWHL investors. The funding round is another boost for a league whose existence was in doubt after a tumultuous summer. According to Sports Business, the five-team, U.S. based NWHL is continuing to operate despite the fact that more than 200 of the world’s top female ice hockey players pledged to not compete in North America this season in an attempt to gain better pay and working conditions. The NWHL also recently signed a partnership with athlete marketing platform Opendorse in an attempt to increase its players’ presence and engagement on social media. If the players can have their salary wishes met, this league has a chance to become equally prominent to the NHL in 10 years’ time.

The shift is here: more fans are streaming sports than paying for TV packages. According to SportsPro, fans are watching more live sport on their smartphones and connected devices than they do on TV, despite the majority of sports media rights being held by linear broadcasters, according to new research by cloud video specialists Grabyo. While more than 50% of fans watch sport via a satellite or pay-TV subscription, Grabyo’s OTT Video Trends Report claims that more than 60% view sports content via either an OTT or premium social media service. Overall, Grabyo’s research found that the global market penetration of OTT services has hit 38%, with DAZN and Kayo Sports cited as the most popular dedicated sports streaming platforms used by fans. Furthermore, Grabyo links a growth in short-form video, real-time highlights, and viral video consumption with the widespread adoption of social media use on smartphones as social media platforms such as Facebook Watch, Twitter, and YouTube TV capitalize on a growing demand for streaming options.

The NHL’s Washington Capitals owners launch Caps Gaming Brand. Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE), the owners of the Washington Capitals NHL franchise, has launched an esports division called Caps Gaming, which will host a 32-team EA Sports NHL 20 competition. The Caps Gaming Showcase, a six-versus-six ice hockey esports tournament, which will launch on Xbox One, will feature an eight-week regular-season beginning in early December, with the top 16 teams advancing to a postseason stage held in late February, competing for a $15,000 prize pool. As part of Monumental’s gaming expansion, the esports division has also signed up professional NHL gamer John Casagranda, who is also known as “JohnWayne” and joins the Caps Gaming organization as an official streamer on the Caps Gaming Twitch channel until the end of June. In addition to being 2018 NHL Stanley Cup champions, Monumental owns and operates pro sports franchises based in the U.S. capital, including the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA champion Washington Mystics. By investing heavily in esports, MSE and the Capitals have kept themselves at the forefront of innovation across the NHL and are primed to cash-in on the rise of esports.

John Cena confronts veteran suicide through charity.  Cena has partnered with the FitOps Foundation, a nonprofit committed to training and certifying veterans as personal trainers as the suicide rate among U.S. veterans continues to increase. According to Sports Illustrated, FitOps runs camps for its training sessions, providing a recognizable feeling for the veterans who attend. In addition to raising awareness about the needs of vets, Cena is also raising funds to expand the FitOps program. A number that really jumped out to Cena to inspire change was that roughly 20 veterans a day commit suicide. In a fundraising effort for FitOps, Cena pledged to match all donations up to $1 million through Veterans Day, as well as offer a VIP meet-and-greet with Cena to one lucky donor. Fittingly, on Veterans Day, the project crossed the $1 million threshold. An integral part of FitOps is rebuilding the sense of community and purpose that many veterans lose when returning to civilian life. While Cena has always showed his appreciation for the military, his current actions have him involved directly. 

All-electric racing series Formula E sees BBC extension to include two races on FTA television. According to SportsPro, the Marrakesh ePrix on February 29 and the Rome ePrix on April 4 are the two races that have been chosen for the BBC’s television coverage, although it is not yet confirmed which channels will air the events. The extension will also see the BBC continue to show every Formula E race across its online platforms, including the BBC iPlayer and its website. Coverage of select races will also be available via the BBC red button. The expanded deal comes ahead of Formula E’s return to the UK, with a double-header race through London’s ExCel exhibition center and along the waterfront on the streets of the Royal Docks set to close the 2019/20 season on July 25-26. Formula E, which debuted on the BBC last season, will also be broadcast in the UK this season on Discovery-owned channel Eurosport, with select events also being shown live on free-to-air network Quest. This is an eco-friendly racing league that allows for the same excitement as non-electric racing with the benefit of no negative carbon emissions and could set an example for NASCAR in the U.S.

[biteypyrotiger]

AddRe-biases in algorithms post I just shared. I really can't stand this idea that numbers never lie. The numbers don't come out of thin air. They are put together by, interpreted and presented by people and only are beneficial in so far as we are able to understand the situation that is being reviewed, the person presenting the data is honest, and the factors that go into the math actually represent what they are supposed to represent.

I was talking about this with a friend from college who graduated with a joint degree in neuroscience and psychology with honors and she immediately pointed out that most of what her mentor for her honors project spent time on for her project was making her manipulate the data to get the result they wanted. Which is not particurally ethical, but it is something that is easy to do.

For an international development class I took in grad school, we spent the first couple weeks talking about the different mathmatical metrics that have been and are used to measure development and why none of them really work. It was initially GDP per capita as the gold standard, but GDP per capita is a function of the total GDP divided by the population. So if the GDP or the nation's wealth goes up or the population goes down, the GDP per capita rises. It doesn't mean that people living in poverty are better off which is the ultimate goal of development issues and in fact what was generally happening was wealth in the nation was increasing, but all the extra wealth was going to people who were already wealthy, the people in poverty were getting nothing and the wealth gap was increasing.

Survey and poll results can be scewed by the wording of the questions and how the survey is carried out. A lot of polls aroudn the 2016 election did not show the level of support the current president had in part because his supporters did not want to be identified as supporters or did not trust the pollsters and therefore either lied or did not participate in the poll. Biases can push people to answers that aren't accurate. For example, a lot of surveys asking for race, only give people one option, which forces someone who is multiracial to give an inaccurate response. A lot of surveys asking for sexual orientation by people who don't know much about queer issues may only give you the options "homosexual or heterosexual" forcing the people who identify as one of a myriad of other identities to either make an inaccurate selection or not take the survey or homosexual participants may lie to avoid persecution or judgement. I've taken a bunch of surveys that assume that the lowest number of alcoholic drinks you can have in a week is 1 with no option for "none" so Ihave to lie or not take the survey. Asking "Do you support the awful, racist policies of X" is a different question than "Do you support the policies of X?". All of these things can represent cultural and other biases that will make the numbers inaccurate and it is not uncommon for questions to be presented like this on purpose to give the result someone wants.

The scales on graphs can often be manipulated in presentations to give the appearance of a really dramatic result that is really quite minor.

The thing that is being measured could also just not be what they think it is. Back in international development, one article I read talked about how people living in poverty saw an increased income with a change that was made and it would look great if you left it there, but people were also going hungry more. In the past, agricultural workers in this community were often paid by being given a portion of the harvest they worked on and that would feed them and their families pretty well. They decided that instead they would be given a wage instead of food with the aspiration that the wage would allow them to do more. But the wage didn't buy them as much food as they needed. So the goal of international development is to increase the quality of life, which is a hard thing to measure so people often look at wages, but wages often don't give the full picture and to get a fuller picture you may have to look at other health and happiness metrics that are going to be a little more subjective and hard to be sure you are measuring the right thing.

Then people may just not present results that look bad to their argument or present it in a way that doesn't reflect what the data actually says but the audience may not realize they are being manipulated or not have enough information to know.

Numbers can still be very very helpful, but the fact is that numbers are subjective and ultimately controlled by the people using them. It's not so much that numberrs lie as people lie or are simply lacking in knowledge or care and thus the numbers aren't necessarily what they look like. I encourage everyone, as a matter of being responsible consumers of information and citizens and to be harder to manipulate, take a class on statistics and research design. If you know how information is put together and where it can go wrong you are harder to lie to. There are free resources online to get this information.

Additionally and, in my view, more importantly, you need to have a qualitative understanding of the information you are looking at. You need to understand the context. That will allow you to have alarm bells that go off if something seems fishy and to better understand what those numbers are actually saying about the subject matter. Numbers are not everything. You need to understand cultures and psychology, and science and laws and SO MANY THINGS if you want to really know what's going on.

[cutsliceddiced]

New top story from Time: ‘I Just Can’t Do This.’ Some Overwhelmed Parents Are Opting to Abandon Pandemic Homeschooling

Frustration is mounting as more families across the U.S. enter their second or even third week of distance learning — and some overwhelmed parents say it will be their last.

Amid the barrage of learning apps, video meet-ups and e-mailed assignments that pass as pandemic home school, some frustrated and exhausted parents are choosing to disconnect entirely for the rest of the academic year. Others are cramming all their children’s school work into the weekend or taking days off work to help their kids with a week’s worth of assignments in one day.

“We tried to make it work the first week. We put together a schedule, and what we found is that forcing a child who is that young into a fake teaching situation is really, really hard,” said Alexandra Nicholson, whose son is in kindergarten in a town outside Boston.

“I’d rather have him watch classic Godzilla movies and play in the yard and pretend to be a Jedi rather than figure out basic math.”

That stress is only compounded for families with multiple children in different grades, or when parents work long hours outside the home. In some cases, older siblings must watch younger ones during the day, leaving no time for school work.

“I think the pressure is on and I think it’s on even more for some of our low-income families. It’s totally overwhelming,” said Rachel Pearl, chief program officer for Friends of the Children. The Portland, Oregon-based national nonprofit that pairs paid mentors with at-risk children.

“A lot of our families already feel they’re not doing enough when they are working so hard and I fear they will fear they are failing at it.”

Parents across the U.S. are concerned their kids are falling behind, especially in lower income families. In households where the parents earn less than $50,000 total annually, 72% are at least somewhat concerned about their child falling behind academically, compared with 56% of parents in high-income households, according to a late-March poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Meghan Perrone, a nurse, can’t even begin to help her 8-year-old daughter with her schoolwork until after she gets home from work and has cleaned up from dinner. Her husband is working from home but spends most of the week holed up in the basement because his job is mainly done by phone. That leaves the couple’s second-grade daughter to supervise her 2-year-old sister.

As a result, the family has pushed the weekly load of schoolwork to weekends and tries to cram as much into two days as they can. One recent Saturday, Perrone’s husband and daughter finished a science project at 10 p.m.

“We don’t have the luxury right now to not be working. Some people aren’t working at all and they can make time to do this stuff, but that for us is just not an option,” said Perrone, who lives in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.

Those with older children may be faring better, but parents still must keep track of timing for video chats with teachers and make sure all the assignments are completed.

Sarah Karpanty, 44, a mother of two middle schoolers in Roanoke, Virginia, said the reality kicked in last week when spring break ended and home learning began.

“I wanted to get into a fetal position and hide out,” said Karpanty, a professor of wildlife biology at Virginia Tech who is also teaching her own students online.

Her boys, aged 12 and 13, are independent but still need guidance navigating the new technology. Their classes involve recorded video from teachers, online quizzes and the occasional interactive Zoom call.

“When this all started we were all like, ‘Thank God kids aren’t affected,’” she said, referring to the coronavirus itself. “But we have to be honest, the kids are not OK.”

Many school districts are emphasizing to parents that the learning curve is steep, and some teachers try to avoid daily deadlines, instead allowing students to go at their own pace.

California high school teacher Susan Binder said the technology can be frustrating and imperfect. Many of the apps elementary schools must now rely on — with names like Seesaw, Epic and IXL — were only intended as a tool to enhance classroom learning or share students’ work with parents.

“This is a very crude bandage we’re putting on a very big wound. We’re just doing the best we can,” said Binder, who is using Zoom and Google classroom to teach economics, AP history and government at El Cerrito High School, near San Francisco.

“A video can’t look at your child’s face and see the confusion. A teacher can do that,” she said.

She worries this generation of students may end up suffering academically, socially and emotionally.

Around the world, parents and schools are facing similar challenges. In Italy, the virus’ first epicenter in Europe, schools have tried to adapt to online learning with a spotty success rate. In some parts of Italy’s hard-hit north, many schools went weeks without assigning lessons, and one parent said her high school aged daughter went two months without a math lesson.

Kara Illig, a mother of three in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, finally broke down one day last week.

Her fourth-grade son had six English assignments all due at the end of the day. Her second-grade daughter had to build a table that would support a dictionary using only printer paper, cardboard and duct tape. She could barely keep track of their assignments, four different school email accounts, 12 Google livestreams, and her own worries as she transitioned to a new job while working from home.

“I was feeling like a failure. I thought, ‘I just can’t do this,’” she said.

She posted a message on a private Parent Teacher Organization group on Facebook, asking: “Is anyone else having a hard time keeping up with all of this?”

She added: “My entire Facebook feed is nothing but photos of happy, organized families, sitting together at the kitchen table doing classwork and I can NOT relate.” The post immediately got more than 70 replies, most of them supportive, and earned her a call from a slightly irritated school principal, she said. Within days, the district told teachers to no longer assign work with a daily deadline.

Illig believes she ruffled some feathers, but she doesn’t regret it.

“It’s just a terrible situation and we’re all trying to adapt to and survive.”

___

Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome, Colleen Barry in Milan and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

[worldnews-blog]

WASHINGTON -- With the Democratic presidential contest down to a two-person race, Sen. Bernie Sanders has declared that he will wield his signature issue, "Medicare for All," as a crucial distinction between his campaign and the surging candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden."Joe essentially wants to maintain what I consider to be a dysfunctional and cruel health care system," Sanders said this week, adding that he hoped they could devote an entire debate to the issue.But an even bigger hurdle than winning the presidency stands between Sanders and his goal of generous government health insurance for all Americans: Congress.No legislation to advance or achieve universal health care has succeeded over the past 70 years without Democrats not only controlling all three branches of government, but also having a supermajority in the Senate. At this point, Sanders' plan has nowhere near that support.Just 14 members of the Senate have signed on to his Medicare for All Act, which would require a huge expansion of federal spending, and Democrats would need to pick up four seats in November to gain majority control of the chamber. Even if they succeeded, most of the Democrats seeking to unseat vulnerable Senate Republicans -- John Hickenlooper in Colorado, for example, and Mark Kelly in Arizona -- have come out against Medicare for All, raising the curious prospect of Democratic Senate candidates opposing the Democratic presidential nominee's most prized policy plan.In the House, a similar Medicare for All bill has 119 sponsors, all Democrats, out of a total 435 members -- at least 218 votes are needed to pass legislation -- and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not among the supporters. Nor are most of the roughly 40 freshman Democrats known as "front liners," who helped their party win control of the House in 2018 by flipping Republican seats."I'm not sure that the government is prepared or qualified to take over the health care for every single American," Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who flipped a Republican district in southern Michigan in 2018, told a local newspaper there.Whether because of the cost -- $34 trillion in new federal spending over 10 years, according to the Urban Institute -- or opposition to eliminating private insurance in favor of government control, most congressional Democrats instead support improving the Affordable Care Act or pursuing a new government-run plan, or "public option," that would compete with private insurance.A public option is at the core of Biden's health plan, but it too could prove extremely challenging to enact, depending on how threatening it seemed to insurers and hospitals. Industry groups that are already mobilizing against Medicare for All could also doom public option legislation, as they did in 2010, when supporters of the Affordable Care Act had to drop a relatively modest public option provision to get the law passed.It is always possible that sentiments could shift -- perhaps sooner rather than later if the coronavirus outbreak were to disproportionately harm people who could not afford care, a possibility Sanders has already raised. He lost no time in making the case for Medicare for All after Health Secretary Alex Azar suggested while testifying before Congress recently that federal officials would not be able to guarantee that all Americans would be able to afford a coronavirus vaccine if it were to become available.But for now, many Democratic lawmakers have expressed trepidation that a legislative showdown over Medicare for All would make it impossible to advance other important initiatives, including on climate change and immigration.And with the Supreme Court's announcement Monday that it would hear a major new challenge to the Affordable Care Act as soon as this fall, even some who support Medicare for All said that for now, Democrats should unify behind the law, which President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to invalidate.Asked in an interview how the House would treat Medicare for All legislation if Sanders were elected president, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a co-sponsor on the House Medicare for All bill, promptly changed the subject to the court case."This is an unrelenting attack on the health care of everyday Americans, and it seems to me the focus at the moment should be on protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act," said Jeffries, a New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.History, too, suggests the chances of a President Sanders pushing Medicare for All through Congress would be slim to none. President Harry Truman failed to win comprehensive universal coverage in 1950 even with Democrats controlling the House and Senate. That defeat, as John McDonough, a health policy expert at Harvard, noted recently in the journal Health Affairs, led President Lyndon Johnson to seek a less ambitious fallback 15 years later: universal coverage limited to older people in his 1965 legislation that created Medicare, a historic accomplishment in its own right."If Democrats can further advance toward near-universal coverage without the life-or-death struggles of Medicare for All," McDonough wrote, "they might just achieve meaningful and historic progress even as they preserve the political capital to make progress on other compelling and urgent policy needs."McDonough also pointed out that the landmark coverage expansions in 1965 (which also created Medicaid, but for a very limited group at the time) and in 2010 with the Affordable Care Act were passed not merely by a Democratic-controlled Congress, but also with Democratic supermajorities in the Senate."There's no prospect of having majorities like that," said Paul Starr, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University. "It's not going to happen."Even if the rules were changed to get rid of the filibuster, making it possible to pass major legislation with only 50 Senate votes, "there is not any guarantee that the 51st Democrat would be willing to support Medicare for All or anything close to it," said Mark Peterson, a professor of public policy, political science and law at the University of California, Los Angeles.Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who wrote the House Medicare for All bill, said in an interview that she was not discouraged by the math, noting that since she introduced her bill a year ago, a dozen more members had signed on as co-sponsors, House committees had held four hearings on it, and coalitions representing people of color, labor unions and businesses had begun lobbying for the bill."A lot of the members I speak to that aren't on the bill, I actually believe they would like to be on the bill but think, 'I don't know if it's politically good for me,'" Jayapal said. "That would fundamentally change if Bernie were to be elected president."Proponents of Medicare for All like to cite some polls that suggest there is strong support for the idea. But Mollyann Brodie, who oversees public opinion research at the Kaiser Family Foundation, says only a minority of Democrats are solely in favor of a sweeping Medicare for All plan, compared to a majority who support offering the option of buying a Medicare-like plan or Medicare for All as a way to address high costs and the challenges of getting care.People are wary of the high taxes that could come with Medicare for All, Brodie said, partly because they do not necessarily trust the federal government to determine how the dollars are spent.What also makes Medicare for All unlikely is massive opposition from the health care industry, particularly insurance companies whose very survival is at risk. Hospitals are also opposed, because the federal government typically pays them much less than private health insurers. Being paid at Medicare rates, industry groups say, would cause many hospitals to close and others to lay off their workers.The industry groups that were largely on board for the Affordable Care Act have already mobilized, through groups like the Partnership for America's Health Care Future, to squelch any thoughts of Medicare for All. They are aggressively lobbying Congress and spending on television ads, one of which aired during the most recent Democratic debate.Short of a public option, which all the Democratic presidential candidates besides Sanders embraced in one form or other, there are more incremental proposals that have broad public and congressional support.Increasing the generosity of premium subsidies for people who buy coverage through the Obamacare marketplaces, as California has already done, is one such idea. Another is to offer premium subsidies to adults with incomes below the poverty level in states that have not expanded Medicaid, a population that is still largely uninsured.Jayapal acknowledged that short of a rapid sea change in public attitudes, full Democratic control of Congress would be necessary to even begin moving forward on Medicare for All. She noted, however, that congressional Republicans have fallen in line behind Trump's agenda to an extent that no one predicted, and said the same could happen with Democrats and Sanders."A president can lead his or her party to a different place in a very short period of time," she said. "Sometimes we think the tipping point is much further away than it actually is."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39FMNVV

[thisdaynews]

Why Is Andrew Yang Still in This Race?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/why-is-andrew-yang-still-in-this-race/

Why Is Andrew Yang Still in This Race?

BEAUFORT, S.C.—Andrew Yang was sitting here in a rented silver Suburban outside a black chamber of commerce surrounded by five members of his rapidly growing campaign staff when he saw a new Fox News poll in which he was tied for fifth in the sprawling Democratic presidential primary.

He stared at the screen of his phone and scrolled.

Story Continued Below

“Three percent!” Yang said, in his characteristically dry, droll way. “This team. Is the team. That’s going to go … all. The. Way. To the White House!”

Yang breezily walked into the chamber building and got onto a packed elevator. To the county party chair squeezed into a corner, Yang excitedly passed along the results of the poll, listing in order the only people who were ahead of him—a former vice president (Joe Biden) and three high-profile senators (Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris).

“And thenme!” he exclaimed, flashing a goofy, exaggerated smile.

Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but Andrew Yang is … surging? It sounds crazy, and who knows how long it lasts? But for now he is one of 10 candidates who have qualified through sufficiently robust polling and fundraising for this fall’s third and fourth debates. The exhausting cluster of Oval Office aspirants, at least for these purposes, has been whittled to this: the aforementioned top four, two more senators, a mayor, a former member of Congress and … this guy. Yang is a 44-year-old entrepreneur from New York and a father of two young sons who’s never run for any office of any kind before this, and whose campaign is fueled by a deeply dystopian view of the near future (trucker riots, anybody?), a pillar of a platform that can come off as a gimmick (a thousand bucks a month for every American adult!), and a zeitgeisty swirl of podcasts, GIFs, tweets and memes. Last week, as a successful governor from a major state dropped out and the bottom half of the bloated field continued to flounder, Yang passed the 200,000 mark for unique donors—outpacing an array of name-known pols. He’s gotten contributions, on average $24 a pop, from 88 percent of the ZIP codes in the country, and he’s on track, he says, to raise twice as much money this quarter as he did last quarter. Just the other day, he made his Sunday news show debut.

It’s a phenomenon hard to figure—until you get up close and take in some strange political alchemy. At the heart of Yang’s appeal is a paradox. In delivering his alarming, existentially unsettling message of automation and artificial intelligence wreaking havoc on America’s economic, emotional and social well-being, he … cracks jokes. He laughs easily, and those around him, and who come to see him, end up laughing a lot, too. It’s not that Yang’s doing stump-speech stand-up. It’s more a certain nonchalant whimsy that leavens what he says and does. Sometimes his jokes fall flat. He can be awkward, but he also pointedly doesn’t appear to care. It’s weird, and it’s hard to describe, but I suspect that if Yang ever said something cringeworthy, as Jeb Bush did that time in 2016—“Please clap”—the audience probably would respond with mirth, not pity. Critics ding his ambit of proposals as fanciful or zany (getting rid of the penny, empowering MMA fighters, lowering the voting age to 16) and question the viability of his “Freedom Dividend,” considering its sky-high price tag (“exciting but not realistic,” Hillary Clinton decided when she considered the general notion in the 2016 cycle). And his campaign coffers are chock-full of small-number contributors and even $1 donors. Still, at this angry, fractious time, and in this primary that’s already an edgy, anxious slog, Yang and his campaign somehow radiate an ambient joviality. Of his party’s presidential contestants, he’s the cheerful doomsayer.

His most foolproof laugh line—“the opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math”—suggests that his candidacy is premised on distinguishing himself from the president the same way as his fellow challengers. But it’s not quite that simple. He’s attracting support from an unorthodox jumble of citizens, from a host of top technologists, but from penitent Trump voters, too. He’s one of only two Democrats (along with Sanders) who ticks 10 percent or higher when Trump voters are asked which of the Democrats they might go for—a factoid Yang uses as evidence that he’ll win “easy” if he’s the nominee come November of next year. Trump, of course, is the president, and Yang (let’s not get carried away) remains a very long long shot to succeed him.

But to spend any time with Yang is to grapple with this unexpected Trump-Yang Venn diagram. While Yang talks in different, far less overtly divisive ways, identifies different scapegoats (robots, not immigrants) and offers different solutions (cash, not walls), he’s zeroed in on the same elemental problem Trump did en route to his shock of a win in ’16: A large portion of the populace is being left behind, and it’s not remotely OK. Similarly, Yang’s campaign packs an anti-Washington, convention-bucking, on-the-fly, filter-free vibe. There are four-letter hats—not MAGA, but MATH (Make America Think Harder). And his Trump train? It’s the Yang Gang. Yang is not thenot Trumpof the 2020 trail. “Yang is thenewTrump,” a traveling Trump-voter-turned-Yang-Gang-YouTuber told me.

There are plenty of differences, too, of course. To wit: In the chamber building, after the elevator disgorged a floor up, a lobby was filled with the bouncy beats of line dancing emanating from a different room. One of his staffers joked that Yang should join in. And then … he did. Apparently unafraid of looking silly, or potentially creating an embarrassing, indelible, campaign-altering moment with the presence not just of me but also a state-based reporter from The Associated Press, Yang proceeded to team up with a handful of senior citizens for what most onlookers ultimately agreed was a quite credible, rhythm-keeping rendition of the catchy “Cupid Shuffle.”

“Down, down, do your dance, do your dance,” went the lyrics—and Yang did.

“Get it, Andrew!” the group leader called into her microphone. “Lookin’ good!”

When it was over, Yang jogged around the room to hearty cheers, grinning and giving everybody high fives.

“Thanks for letting me crash your class,” he said to the head of Family Slide Dancers.

“Thank you all!” he said to the members of her class.

By the time we got back to the Suburban, my phone was buzzing nonstop in my pocket. A tweet of the video I shot was starting to zoom around the internet.

***

“We are basically fucked,”Yang said, sitting in the Suburban, earlier in the day, not too long after we met, “unless we un-fuck ourselves, systematically and collectively.”

This blunt declaration didn’t surprise me. That’s because I’d read his most recent book. It’s one heck of a downer.

InThe War on Normal People, which came out last year, Yang sketched a stark picture of “broken people” and “jobless zones” and “derelict buildings” and “widespread despair” and “hundreds of thousands of families and communities being pushed into oblivion” and “a society torn apart by ever-rising deprivation and disability” and a “best-case scenario” of “a hyper-stratified society like something out ofThe Hunger Games.”

“It’s possible that we may already be too defeated and opiated by the market to mount a revolution. We might just settle for making hateful comments online and watching endless YouTube videos with only the occasional flare-up of violence amid many quiet suicides,” he wrote.

“The group I worry about most is poor whites,” he added. “There will be more random mass shootings in the months ahead as middle-aged white men self-destruct and feel that life has no meaning.”

My copy of his book is littered with my disconsolate scribbles.

“Yikes.”

“… bleak …”

“… hellscape.”

Know what else, though, I penned into the margins?

“Ha!”

“When I was 13,” Yang wrote, for instance, “I had to have four teeth pulled in preparation for wearing braces. I was actually kind of excited about it because I saw my dad’s teeth and was like, ‘whatever it takes, let’s not have those.’” He said the answer for out-of-place workers was not a career as a home health care aide because “former truck drivers will not be excited to bathe grandma.”

And as we traveled around, a busy, six-stop day in this sweaty, marshy terrain—from Bluffton to Okatie to Beaufort, from town halls to meet-and-greets with local Democratic clubs to a quiet, private stop at a shelter for abused women and children—the laughter never stopped for long.

Nibbling on a belVita vanilla oat biscuit, he praised the company for marketing the product as a healthy option. “It’s, like, you’re clearly good for me,” he said, “and then it’s a fucking cookie for breakfast!”

He referred repeatedly to his $24 average donation. “My fans are cheaper than Bernie’s!”

Entering a Mexican restaurant for a town hall, he said, “The best thing about running for president is I walk into a room and people clap!” The crowd roared.

He wasn’t always this way. His parents came to America from Taiwan. His mother was a computer services administrator before becoming a pastel artist. His father grew up poor on a peanut farm and got a Ph.D. in physics at the University of California at Berkeley and worked for General Electric and IBM in New York. Yang described him as a “workaholic” and “a brusque lab geek.” Growing up in the suburbs of Westchester County, Yang as a kid was “angsty,” “brooding” and “sad,” he said. He read science fiction and fantasy and Herman Hesse and listened to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and Sarah McLachlan and played piano and decent tennis and lots of Dungeons and Dragons. He was, for a time, a tad goth. He suffered racist slurs. At prep school at Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire, and then at college at Brown, where he majored in economics and political science, he began to come out of his shell. He started to lift weights, mostly to try to get dates, and was proud to be able to bench press 225 pounds eight to 10 times in a row.

Now, here in the Suburban, as we crossed the Broad River, I brought up “Rex and Lex.” That’s what Yang named his pecs, “Rex” for the right, “Lex” for the left, when he was lifting all those weights. I knew about this because he wrote about in his other, earlier book,Smart People Should Build Things. He “could jostle them on command,” he had written, “to make them ‘talk.’” Obviously, I wanted to hear more.

Yang obliged. Having shed his blue sport coat, he looked down at his chest, and he … channeled “Rex.”

“He’s, like, almost mute,” he said, “but he’s still like”—and here the candidate for president made his dad-bod-dormantpectoralisundulate under his checked, collared shirt and assumed a diminutive, sing-song cadence—“‘Andrew, I still have a little bit of voice left. You haven’t fed me in a long time. You used to looooove meeeeeee.’”

Zach Graumann, Yang’s 31-year-old campaign manager, looked some combination of mesmerized and mortified. “You’re such a tool,” he said.

Yang was undeterred. He was on a roll. He turned his attention to “Lex.”

“Oh man,” he lamented, “Lex is wimpier than Rex!”

Everybody inside the Suburban laughed and laughed.

***

At the town hall in Hilton Head—a standing-room-only crowd of mainly older folks wearing boat shoes and flip-flops—it was hard to miss the young guys in the pink hats.

They listened intently as Yang introduced himself. “Hello, everyone! I’m Andrew Yang, and I’m running for president! … I’m going to be honest. I’m the last person anyone thought was going to run for president, in terms of my high school, my upbringing. My parents were not like, ‘You’re gonna be president someday.’” This assertion drew laughs. After Brown and law school at Columbia and five unhappy months as a corporate attorney, he started a company (Stargiving.com) that failed, he said. He was the CEO of a company that succeeded. He launched a non-profit that did a little bit of both. Then Yang gave his political pitch, about truckers, and soon-to-be self-driving trucks, and so many other kinds of workers, and automation, and artificial intelligence, and the real reason he thinks Trump won—millions of jobs automated away in the most important Midwest swing states—and the coming “buzz saw” and “the race to the bottom” and “suicides, drug overdoses, anxiety, depression,” and how the average American life expectancy has declined for three straight years for the first time in a century, and how “D.C. is not up to it at all,” and about $1,000 a month for every adult.

“How am I doing so well?” he said. “It’s because Americans recognize the truth when they hear it.”

The guys in the pink hats were impressed.

“He nailed it,” Mike Gallagher, 29, told me after Yang finished.

“Awesome,” said Wayne Boyce, 28.

They had driven the hour or so up from Savannah, Georgia, and both of them said they had voted for Trump but would not be doing it again.

Ditto for their other friend. “He’s an asshole,” Jordan Snipes said of the president. “And he hasn’t done anything he said he was going to do.”

They were members, they all said, of the Yang Gang now.

I asked if there were others like them where they’re from.

“Most of our friends,” Snipes reported.

A few hours later, at the Mexican restaurant, I met the Yang Gang YouTuber. Russell Peterson, 43,from Union County, North Carolina, was with his wife, Elasa, who was wearing a MATH shirt, and their toddler son, Zephaniah—“country folks,” Peterson said, and “former Trump supporters.” He had a lot to say.

“We all saw a problem, and that’s why we elected Donald Trump,” he told me. “Because he was saying he was going to go in and he was going to drain the swamp. He was a larger-than-life figure, you know? We all knew that there was a problem. We just didn’t know what that problem was. But then, when you listen to Andrew Yang, you realize: Oh, yeah, it is automation—it’s not immigrants. It’s automation. We’re all losing our jobs. We’re all being phased out. I’m an ex-landscaper. I just saw yesterday they’ve got a mower that just goes and mows your yard, just like a Roomba, you know, does your house.”

And what’s he do for work now?

“This is what we do,” he said. “We follow Andrew Yang full-time.”

He doesn’t work for the campaign, but …

“This has become my passion. There is nothing more important than getting this man elected,” he said, breaking down his video equipment.

“I’m tired of politicians. I don’t want a politician. I want somebody who’s going to tell me the fuckin’ truth, tell me what’s going on, and thenprovidesomething that’s actually going to impact my life! Since I’ve been an adult, there’s not beenonepolitician that has directly impacted my life, but I promise you that freedom dividend and putting $2,000 a month into my household would directly impact my life. I mean,game over.”

He wasn’t finished.

“People are so disillusioned,” he said. “Donald Trump? He was the WWE superstar guy. You know, he was going to take his metal chair into Washington, and he was just going to use it on everybody. We were finally going to be working like we were supposed to be working—and I’ve only seen the country get more and more divided. And then when you have Trump acting like he’s acting, I can’t support that, bro’. And then there’s a lot of people in the center who are like me who are moving over to Andrew Yang because we don’t like what we see. Wedon’tlike what Trump has done to the country. He’s only divided us more and more. So now we actually have some solutions and a guy who’stalkingabout solutions—so, like, let’s get this guy in, because he makes too much damn sense!”

All day long, everywhere we went, Yang was asked about Trump. How was he going to handle him? How was he going to debate him? How was he going to beat him?

He said he “would make him seem ridiculous.” He said he “would just diminish him by dismissing his arguments and making him seem like the buffoon and joke that he is.” He said Trump was “fire”—and he said he was “ice.” He told people he was on the debate team in high school that went to the world championships in London. He said he would “use humor.”

And at the last stop of the day, here at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall, outside of which I spotted parked a red Ford F250 pickup truck with a bumper sticker that read TRUMP, the throng of a couple hundred that had gathered couldn’t fit inside. They spilled out onto the lawn off to the side. “Let’s do it!” Yang hollered. He had no microphone. “Let’s project!”

And at this last event the last question was about Trump.

“When you become the nominee,” a woman asked, “how will you stand up to that nastiness in the White House?”

“Voters around the country have said to me they cannot wait to see me debate Donald Trump,” Yang said. He was all about “logic and reason and problem-solving” while Trump was “all bluster, and Americans can tell the difference very quickly,” he said, snapping his fingers. “There’s a reason he hasn’t touched me,” Yang continued. “Because he knows I’m the wrong person to touch. His supporters are all coming my way. … I’m peeling off Trump supporters right and left.” And one more thing: “I’m better at the internet than he is!”

More laughter.

“On that note …”

A snaking line of people waited for pictures. The sun set. Through the buggy, muggy haze, a single orange orb of a streetlight glowed past clumps of spectral Spanish moss. Yang autographed MATH hats. Flashes from phones pulsed in the dark.

Read More

[lthmath]

Recently we have been reorganizing our LThMath Book Club. The whole idea behind it is to read and discuss books with other people. We are happy that the Goodreads Club grew to 278 people. We have created a Facebook Group with the same idea as the Goodreads one. After the first months we have reached 377 members in the group and we have some really great book recommendations. Hope you all enjoy the idea.

Due to this change, we cannot do just a Goodreads poll for the bi-monthly book. Therefor, we decided to do a survey (created using Google forms). In this way more people can vote for the book. If you want to vote, you need to do it HERE.

“A Beautiful Mind” by Sylvia Nasar*

Economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar has written a biography of Nash that looks at all sides of his life. She gives an intelligent, understandable exposition of his mathematical ideas and a picture of schizophrenia that is evocative but decidedly unromantic. Her story of the machinations behind Nash’s Nobel is fascinating and one of very few such accounts available in print.

We are very interested in this book due to the movie “A Beautiful Mind”*. It is an incredible, emotional and interesting movie about the life of John Nash. If this book was chosen, we believe it would be a great idea to watch the movie after we read the book. What do you think?

“Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension: A Mathematician’s Journey Through Narcissistic Numbers, Optimal Dating Algorithms, at Least Two Kinds of Infinity, and More” by Matt Parker*

In the absorbing and exhilarating Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, Parker sets out to convince his readers to revisit the very math that put them off the subject as fourteen-year-olds. Starting with the foundations of math familiar from school (numbers, geometry, and algebra), he takes us on a grand tour, from four dimensional shapes, knot theory, the mysteries of prime numbers, optimization algorithms, and the math behind barcodes and iPhone screens to the different kinds of infinity―and slightly beyond. Both playful and sophisticated, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension is filled with captivating games and puzzles, a buffet of optional hands-on activities that entice us to take pleasure in mathematics at all levels. Parker invites us to relearn much of what baffled us in school and, this time, to be utterly enthralled by it.

“Lost in Math: How Beauty Leards Physics Astray” by Sabine Hossenfelder*

Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria. Worse, these “too good to not be true” theories are actually untestable and they have left the field in a cul-de-sac. To escape, physicists must rethink their methods. Only by embracing reality as it is can science discover the truth.

Looking at the general description, this sounds more like a book about physics but we are still interested to see how the author deals with the bondary between mathematics and physics. Also, this book was released in 2018.

“The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus: The Mathematics of Christmas” by Hannah Fry and Thomas Oléron Evans*

How do you apply game theory to select who should be on your Christmas shopping list? Can you predict Her Majesty’s Christmas Message? Will calculations show Santa is getting steadily thinner – shimmying up and down chimneys for a whole night – or fatter – as he tucks into a mince pie and a glass of sherry in billions of houses across the world?

Full of diagrams, sketches and graphs, beautiful equations, Markov chains and matrices, Proof That Santa Exists brightens up the bleak midwinter with stockingfuls of mathematiccal marvels. And proves once and for all that maths isn’t just for old men with white hair and beards who associate with elves.

“The Music of the Primes: Why an unsolved problem in mathematics matters” by Marcus du Sautoy*

Prime numbers are the very atoms of arithmetic. They also embody one of the most tantalising enigmas in the pursuit of human knowledge. How can one predict when the next prime number will occur? Is there a formula which could generate primes? These apparently simple questions have confounded mathematicians ever since the Ancient Greeks.

In this breathtaking book, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy tells the story of the eccentric and brilliant men who have struggled to solve one of the biggest mysteries in science. It is a story of strange journeys, last-minute escapes from death and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Above all, it is a moving and awe-inspiring evocation of the mathematician’s world and the beauties and mysteries it contains.

“A Brief History of Infinity” by Brian Clegg*

Infinity is a concept that fascinates everyone from a seven-year-old child to a maths professor. An exploration of the most mind-boggling feature of maths and physics, this work examines amazing paradoxes and looks at many features of this fascinating concept.

“Gamma: Exploring Euler’s Constant” by Julian Havil*

Among the many constants that appear in mathematics, π, e, and i are the most familiar. Following closely behind is y, or gamma, a constant that arises in many mathematical areas yet maintains a profound sense of mystery.

In a tantalizing blend of history and mathematics, Julian Havil takes the reader on a journey through logarithms and the harmonic series, the two defining elements of gamma, toward the first account of gamma’s place in mathematics.  Sure to be popular with not only students and instructors but all math aficionados, Gamma takes us through countries, centuries, lives, and works, unfolding along the way the stories of some remarkable mathematics from some remarkable mathematicians.

“Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception” by Charles Seife*

“Proofiness,” as Charles Seife explains in this eye-opening book, is the art of using pure mathematics for impure ends, and he reminds readers that bad mathematics has a dark side. It is used to bring down beloved government officials and to appoint undeserving ones (both Democratic and Republican), to convict the innocent and acquit the guilty, to ruin our economy, and to fix the outcomes of future elections. This penetrating look at the intersection of math and society will appeal to readers of Freakonomics and the books of Malcolm Gladwell.

“Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-year quest to solve the mathematical problems of Antiquity” by David S. Richeson*

Tales of Impossibility recounts the intriguing story of the renowned problems of antiquity, four of the most famous and studied questions in the history of mathematics. First posed by the ancient Greeks, these compass and straightedge problems–squaring the circle, trisecting an angle, doubling the cube, and inscribing regular polygons in a circle–have served as ever-present muses for mathematicians for more than two millennia. David Richeson follows the trail of these problems to show that ultimately their proofs–demonstrating the impossibility of solving them using only a compass and straightedge–depended on and resulted in the growth of mathematics.

We hope this helped you decide what book you would like to read in August – September with us. Hope you liked this post. Have a great day. You can find us on Facebook,  Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. We will try to post there as often as possible.

Lots of love and don’t forget that maths is everywhere! Enjoy!

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December – January Book Choice Recently we have been reorganizing our LThMath Book Club. The whole idea behind it is to read and discuss books with other people.