July 6, 2015

Briefly

  • Visualizing the Twitter networks of NZ MPs: on the Herald data blog, a post by Chris McDowall, and additional graphics by Jayne Ihaka.  peterdunne
    Now we just need a way to tell which accounts are actually used by MPs and which ones are twitterwallahs.
  • There was a big discrepancy among bookies on the odds for the Greek referendum. Paddy Power estimates an 80% chance of ‘yes’ and has paid out winnings early. Betfair is almost certain of “No”.  The wisdom of crowds has definite limitations, especially in situations where no-one really has a clue.
  • Sense about Science have a new guide to screening tests. I’ll repeat my testing soundbite: “Screening is the opposite of treatment: you go in healthy and come out with a disease”.
  • Measuring happiness: a discussion at the New York Times and an independent (I think) skeptical post by John Quiggin arguing for measures of unhappiness.
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Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests include semiparametric models, survey sampling, statistical computing, foundations of statistics, and whatever methodological problems his medical collaborators come up with. He also blogs at Biased and Inefficient See all posts by Thomas Lumley »