First Blog

Letters from the future.   Many of us wonder what can be achieved with big data, which combines multiple data bases and machine learning.  This is the second of a series of letters maybe not sent yet but soon will flood the world.  We are suggesting what can be done right now, like today.   This particular letter is sent to Democratic voters; a similar letter targeting Republican voters is just as easy.  The footnotes are for you, the reader, not the letter recipient. NOTE.  Many databases need to be resourced for this letter.  This is what big data does, and it does it today . Dear Mr Enyone, We understand you are very busy, and this is the reason you were unable to vote in the previous election (1), even though you are so registered.  It has come to our attention that you are earning about $45,000/year (2), and you must be concerned about the decline of the dollar and availability of universal health care (3). You also grew up in Detroit where most residents vote soli

Winning.  Have you ever wondered about just how many games must your team win to know, guaranteed, it has won a certain number of consecutive games?  This is, not likely to have won a certain number of consecutive games.  But actual consecutive wins .  Thinking a bit combinatorially we can determine this with a simple formula.  Notation: n = number of games in a season r = number of consecutive wins desired Let n/r = m R k .  That is m is the integer divisor of n by r , which is 0, 1, 2,…, and k is the remainder, 0 ,1,…,  r -1.  For example 53/5 = 10 R 3, or 21/6 = 3 R 3. Then we have the minimum number of games that must be won to guarantee r consecutive wins W sometime during a season is given by W = m ( r -1) + k + 1 In the table below, we give some examples for various sports.Of course, when r  = 2, that value is the next highest number greater than half the number of games when n  is even.   Number of games played Run of consecutive w

Nowadays we see near riots in the streets, remarkably well-organized riots, spun off as spontaneous tornados or chaos.   One problem with creating the tornado is the thought that once set its outcome cannot be controlled.  Chaos is no mother's child.  The News.   Nowadays we see news celebrities that run their shows to celebrate their greatness, their self-confessed bullseye opinions, and their news omnipotence.  There is little traditional reporting.  We see an odd combination of opinion supported by news interpretations, interpolations, or selected truths contorted to support personal views.  But more, there is now a news royalty.  These are commentators that use their show to celebrate themselves.  Specifically, we have Bill O’Reilly (FOX) and Chris Matthews (MSNBC). Both regard their opinions as supreme and true.  Matthews seeks affirmation from his guests. O’Reilly corrects views    alternative  from his.   Both frequently interrupt guests far more intelligent than themse

Corruption.  Everything is measured these days.  It has been said if it cannot be measured, it doesn’t exist. So, even corruption has been measured.  While there is no real method to measure actual corruption, it is measured indirectly by perceptions of residents.  So, we go transparent, that is to the transparency website to examine corruption*.   A total of 176 countries were evaluated.  The lower ranked countries have the lowest scores (based on a 0-100 score). They are by plagued by untrustworthy and badly functioning public institutions like the police and judiciary.  This includes bribery and extortion. Higher-ranked countries tend to have more freedom of the press, public access to information about public expenditure, higher standards of integrity for officials, and generally independent judicial systems.   Below, we show the bottom or most corrupt countries (Table 1) followed by the top or least corrupt countries (Table 2). Table 1. Most corrupt countries C

Worldwide, since 2010, we've seen an increase of Radical Islamic terrorist attacks, including the number of attacks, deaths, and injuries.   In the table below we look at the top 20 countries or the 44 countries experiences such attacks.  (All info is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks.) What is done here is merely some sorting and ranking.  As you can see, Iraq is atop all scales.  The other top countries are well known.  However, exceptions at the high end are France, China, and the USA. Indeed, the USA ranks very high world-side in all categories: count (9th), deaths (14th), and injuries (11th).  In light that six of the top nine countries are well established in terrorism against their own populations, this is remarkable.  It is no wonder that many in the USA are rather cautious or concerned about future terrorists events. The number of attacks has grown over the recent years, with attacks prior to 2009 relatively small. Including

How big is the national debt?  You know; it’s about USD 20 trillion.  And how big is that?  We could stack dollars upon one another to reach the moon and back – in fact, three round trips!!  Yeah! So what?   More tellingly, with the $20T bucks you could buy every single stock included in the S&P 500 - meaning you can own outright every company so listed.  For example, you would completely own the top fourteen, Apple Inc, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway, General Electric, JPMorgan Chase, Facebook, Wells Fargo, AT&T, Nestlé, and hundreds more.   It is estimated that over all of human history 5,820,203,717 ounces of gold have been mined.  At the current price of about $1200/oz, this values today at $6,984,244,460,400, or about 1/3 of the total US debt.  Or you can win the (average) Powerball Jackpot about 322,000 times. That average is just over $62,000,000.  Or you could give every US citizen $57,000 c

 An account of evolution from a (feedback) systems viewpoint. Species as systems.   It is a given that adaptable species are the most successful and that sometimes more the adaptable species exhibit greater intelligence.  To adapt requires more than instinct.  It requires a problem-solving capacity to comprehend survival options and make survival decisions.  So, if an adaptable species is stressed, it must solve survival problems.  Many, if not most species can do have and done this.  Availability of food sources is significant. In many species, we see local adaptability to local conditions.  This means non-cognitive solutions are found. Perhaps adaptability involves a modified method of hunting  or food gathering. Or it could involve a reactive change to climate or a need for protection. The tripod of survival: food, protection, and reproduction, are the progenitors of adaptation.  Pleasure, convenience, and comfort are not. View any species as a system.  It has states, such

Which country has the largest population?  You know this one.  It is China.  But did you know the second largest population, India, is a mere 3% smaller?  Below we list the top six world populations. They comprise about 50% of the total world population of 7.5 billion people.  Is your country there? Rank Country Population 2017 Total Population  Cumulative Population 1 China 1,388,232,693     18.5% 18.5% 2 India 1,342,512,706     17.9% 36.4% 3 U.S. 326,474,013      4.3% 40.7% 4 Indonesia 263,510,146      3.5% 44.2% 5 Brazil 211,243,220      2.8% 47.0% 6 Pakistan 196,744,376      2.6% 49.6%   World 7,515,284,153     100.0%   Which are the smallest populations?  These you cannot possibly guess.  The lowest, the Vatican, has a population of only 810 folks. In this country, you can actually know everybody!  It goes up, but no

Letters from the future.   Many of us wonder what can be achieved with big data, which combines multiple data bases and machine learning.  This is the first of a series of letters maybe not sent yet but soon will flood the world.  We are suggesting what can be done right now, like today.   Dear Ms Enyone, We thank you for completing our online survey on wellness and happiness in your situation.  Thank you for sending us your email address.  We have determined that you are more overweight than you desire and that your happiness coefficient is 58, placing you just in the sub-happy category.  We have also accessed your medical records and note your blood pressure is slightly elevated.  We have also noticed you watch many “how-to-diet” TV programs.    Importantly, we have determined your credit score is outstanding, currently at 790.    Therefore, in conjunction with our co-business partners Nile.biz and Slimmer-Trimmer.biz, we have enrolled you in the Slimmer-Trimmer weight