For one semester at the University of Michigan I was an Econ major, but I got hung up on the Latin phrase meaning "all other things being equal," which kept showing up in every economic model we studied.
When I (somewhat rebelliously) wrote a paper arguing that in real life all other things never stay equal, my professor was not amused and gave me a D. That was the end of my potential career as an economist.
I understood, of course, the concept of modeling and the need to control for random factors that could affect the outcome, since I’d also been a math major for a minute. But similar concerns about reality’s messiness compared to math’s formulaic purity derailed my academic trajectory in that subject as well. Quod Erat Demonstrandum if you will.
In the end, I found that I was better suited to working with words, so it was journalism for me, which of course is completely obsessed with the real world and all of its messiness. But the two subjects that came up over and over again in my journalism career were economics and math.
I often wished that I’d paid better attention in those classes as the stories I covered often had elements that put my memory to the test.
Accordingly, years later when I was teaching journalism at U-C, Berkeley, Stanford and SF State, I found myself advising students to take classes in math and economics because they would probably need them in their future careers.
Mindful of my own academic record, I also told my students if they just couldn’t stand the way all those “other things” never seemed to add up the way they were supposed to, maybe being a journalist was indeed the right job for them.
Finis.
HEADLINES:
Israeli missile hits Iran, U.S. officials confirm (CBS)
12 jurors seated in Trump trial as alternates are sought (WP)
House GOP erupts into name-calling and fresh threats to Johnson over effort to pass aid (CNN)
Red states threaten librarians with prison — as blue states work to protect them (WP)
Brussels proposes return to pre-Brexit mobility for UK and EU young people (Guardian)
Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran (NYT)
US to oppose Palestinian bid for full UN membership (Reuters)For one semester at the University of Michigan I was an Econ major, but I got hung up on the Latin phrase meaning "all other things being equal," which kept showing up in every economic model we studied.
When I (somewhat rebelliously) wrote a paper arguing that in real life all other things never stay equal, my professor was not amused and gave me a D. That was the end of my potential career as an economist.
I understood, of course, the concept of modeling and the need to control for random factors that could affect the outcome, since I’d also been a math major for a minute. But similar concerns about reality’s messiness compared to math’s formulaic purity derailed my academic trajectory in that subject as well. Quod Erat Demonstrandum if you will.
In the end, I found that I was better suited to working with words, so it was journalism for me, which of course is completely obsessed with the real world and all of its messiness. But the two subjects that came up over and over again in my journalism career were economics and math.
I often wished that I’d paid better attention in those classes as the stories I covered often had elements that put my memory to the test.
Accordingly, years later when I was teaching journalism at U-C, Berkeley, Stanford and SF State, I found myself advising students to take classes in math and economics because they would probably need them in their future careers.
Mindful of my own academic record, I also told my students if they just couldn’t stand the way all those “other things” never seemed to add up the way they were supposed to, maybe being a journalist was indeed the right job for them.
Finis.
HEADLINES:
Israeli missile hits Iran, U.S. officials confirm (CBS)
12 jurors seated in Trump trial as alternates are sought (WP)
House GOP erupts into name-calling and fresh threats to Johnson over effort to pass aid (CNN)
Red states threaten librarians with prison — as blue states work to protect them (WP)
Brussels proposes return to pre-Brexit mobility for UK and EU young people (Guardian)
Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran (NYT)
US to oppose Palestinian bid for full UN membership (Reuters)
NPR needs a serious critique not a politically charged parting shot (Guardian)
The Real Reason NPR Squashed Uri Berliner (Politico Mag)
NPR’s Problems Won’t Be Solved by “Viewpoint Diversity” (The Nation)
Turmoil at NPR after editor rips network for political bias (WP)
California sets long-awaited drinking water limit on ‘Erin Brockovich’ contaminant (AP)
Arizona Republicans Splinter Over Repeal of 1864 Abortion Ban (NYT)
Ancient humans hid in Saudi Arabian lava tube for over 7,000 years (Independent)
We Need To Rewild The Internet (Noema)
Senate Commerce chair backs amended bill that could ban TikTok (The Hill)
The AI race is generating a dual reality (Financial Times)
Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now (Verge)
The AI hype bubble is deflating. Now comes the hard part. (WP)
Attention-Seeking Friend Obviously Hoping Someone Will Ask Where Other Arm Went (The Onion)
NPR needs a serious critique not a politically charged parting shot (Guardian)
The Real Reason NPR Squashed Uri Berliner (Politico Mag)
NPR’s Problems Won’t Be Solved by “Viewpoint Diversity” (The Nation)
Turmoil at NPR after editor rips network for political bias (WP)
California sets long-awaited drinking water limit on ‘Erin Brockovich’ contaminant (AP)
Arizona Republicans Splinter Over Repeal of 1864 Abortion Ban (NYT)
Ancient humans hid in Saudi Arabian lava tube for over 7,000 years (Independent)
We Need To Rewild The Internet (Noema)
Senate Commerce chair backs amended bill that could ban TikTok (The Hill)
The AI race is generating a dual reality (Financial Times)
Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now (Verge)
The AI hype bubble is deflating. Now comes the hard part. (WP)
Attention-Seeking Friend Obviously Hoping Someone Will Ask Where Other Arm Went (The Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment