Just organizing a few thoughts regarding computational complexity, applied probability, and cost-benefit analysis.
- A song called “I just do theory” [mp3] made me smile. (“I wrote a program that solved TSP / Superquasipolynomially / Ain’t no such thing as lunch for free / When you’re digesting P-NP”). Link for lyrics.
- One of the players that the Chicago Bears drafted this week (Al Afalava) boasts that he won a Rocks-Paper-Scissors tournament. His odds of winning are probably 1/N. Before you start arguing that there is skill involved, consider this: he lost in the first round following his championship run. Link.
- Carl Bialik reports that often, poker is a game of chance, not a game of skill. Of course, skill is really important, but the article is worth a read. Link.
- A geeky mother provides a cost-benefit analysis of breastfeeding in response to a recent Atlantic article that slams breastfeeding (I felt like the Atlantic article brought up a couple of good points, but I was otherwise unimpressed). Many, many differening opinions have been voiced. This is the quantitative response I would have written if I had more time. Link.
Punk Rock Operations Research 
May 1st, 2009 at 9:27 am
Thanks for the link to my post on the cost-benefit analysis of breastfeeding. FYI, it was in response to a recent article on slate.com by Hanna Rosin (not her article in the Atlantic). However, I did reply to her article in the Atlantic too:
http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/03/17/the-case-against-breastfeeding-is-it-anti-feminist/
http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/03/18/the-case-against-breastfeeding-the-voices/
I don’t think I’ve been called a geek since high school…trying to figure out if it is a compliment or not! 😉
May 1st, 2009 at 9:59 am
Other random thoughts and even sports related…
Pittsburgh Pirates MLB team has a new pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan. Apparently his nickname is “The Professor”. Well one of his new students of the pitching game is newly traded pitcher Ross Ohlendorf who is a degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering(?? never heard of that one) from Princeton. So no shortage of quantitative minds on the Pirates pitching staff.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=4107047
May 1st, 2009 at 9:59 am
It’s definitely a compliment! Thanks for the great post.
May 1st, 2009 at 10:01 am
Update: Apparently the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering was formed at Princeton in 1999. http://orfe.princeton.edu/