Friday, December 5, 2008

Why dear God, why?

pulling-out-hairThis thread on Orkut has spawned over 300 posts. I mean, seriously, I mean, really very seriously, what on earth is wrong with humanity? Imagine me, if you will, with look of utter incomprehension, bewilderment and frustration clinching my teeth and fists, with drops of perspiration on my wrinkled forehead, trying to control violently pulling away my hairs. That’s me, on the right, when I saw this, and see such others. Some of these people are my real friends and capable of beautiful thoughts on their blogs and in person. Here they are trying to guess whether next poster in thread is going to guy or girl, and even outsmarting themselves. Why? How? Is it even fun? Million monkeys trying to compose Shakespeare's Othello will produce more interesting text. If it were up to me, this would qualify as test for letting live. See also: Wisdom of the Crowds.

Breaking the Bias – Lessons from Bayesian Statistical Perspective

Equitable and fair institutions are the foundation of modern democracies. Bias, as referring to “inclination or prejudice against one perso...