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Contact Information |
Education A.B. in Economics with distinction, Georgetown University, 1981 Ph.D. in Economics and University Fellow, University of Texas at Austin, 1989 Phi Kappa Phi Employment |
Teaching: Datamining for Managers (Spring 2013) Wed, 9-11:50am, Pearl 403
Teaching: STAT 601 (Summer 2013)
Selected Recent Service
Graduate Students |
Courses Taught
Applied Probability Study Group
Editorial Duties Publications click here. |
Referee for: Acta Biotheoretica, American Economic Review, American Economist, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, American Political Science Review, Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry, BMC Medical Research Methodology, Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, Computational Economics, Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, Computational Statistics, Econ Journal Watch, Economics Letters, El Trimestre Economico (Mexico), European Journal of Operational Research, Informs Transactions on Education, Interfaces, International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, Journal of Environmental Quality, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Forecasting, Journal of Income Distribution, Journal of Industrial Economics, Journal of Physiology, Journal of Quantitative Economics, Journal of Statistical Software, LIBER Quarterly, Management Information Systems Quarterly, Management Science and Engineering, Mathematica Journal, National Science Foundation, Progress in Development Studies, Review of Accounting and Finance, Review of Economics and Statistics, Statistics and Probability Letters, The American Statistician
BLOGS:
Bad graphs and how they can be repaired.
Junk Charts
Things that the other Craig Newmark finds interesting.
Newmark's Door
Andrew Gelman's blog.
Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
A group blog by some number crunchers from Harvard.
Social Science Statistics Blog
Self-explanatory.
STATS: Checking out the numbers behind the news
Economic analysis of current events, often backed by some superb macro number crunching.
Econ Browser
A finance blog that emphasizes the housing industry.
Calculated Risk
Economic commentary on issues of the day from a quant.
FalkenBlog
International Economics.
MISH'S Global Economic Trend Analysis
A bunch of libertarian lawyers discussing legal (and sometimes political) issues of the day.
(If ALL my blogs were about numbers, I wouldn't be well-rounded, would I?)
The Volokh Conspiracy
Occasional Columns that are "must read":
"The Numbers Guy" column by Carl Bialik at the Wall Street Journal. It appears every couple weeks. He also has a blog. You can register for email notification of new columns. The Numbers Guy Blog.
"The Financial Page" by James Surowiecki at The New Yorker. It appears every other week or so. Just check the Table of Contents at The New Yorker's website occasionally. The New Yorker
BOOKS FOR THE LAYMAN:
My suggestions for learning more about the interplay between statistics, decision sciences, and business. These books are written for laymen, not for technical specialists. Moreover, they are all very well-written.
Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos
"Mathematical illiteracy and its consequences" is the focus of this timeless book. Many simple examples show common pitfalls in thinking about numbers and how to overcome them.
How We Know What Isn't So by Thomas Gilovich
"The fallibility of human reason in everyday life" but not just from a numerical perspective.
The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
Under what conditions do groups of non-experts make better decisions than experts? When do committees make good decisions and when are they likely to produce groupthink nonsense? Make it a point to read Surowiecki's occasional column in New Yorker Magazine , which alone makes it worthwhile to subscribe to the magazine.
Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
You don't need to know the mathematics behind the field of "game theory", but you need to know what game theory can do for you. What will your opponent/competitor do? What should you do in response? How to see through your opponent's strategy. Filled with examples from everyday life and business.
Fortune's Formula by William Poundstone
This engaging book tells the story of Kelly's Formula for asset allocation, starting with its roots in Shannon's theory of information transmission across noisy lines. Mobsters and racetracks; roulette, blackjack and Las Vegas Casinos; Michael Millken's junk bond operation and the implosion of the LTC Hedge Fund all play roles. For a light introduction to the quantification of Wall Street, this book is superb.
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
How did the use of simple statistics propel the Oakland A's from the cellar to the playoffs and do it more cheaply than other teams?
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb
An excellent book on statistics and financial markets.
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb
Taleb should have stopped after the first book. Don't bother with this one.
Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres is another book on which you shouldn't waste your time. Read my review "Ian Ayres's Super Crunchers Is Not about Super Crunching" SIGKDD Explorations 28(10), 50-52, 2008
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians and Activists by Joel Best
Does the number of children who die from gunfire double each year? Does aorexia kill 150,000 women annually? If you trust the mainstream media, you believe these lies...
More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues by Joel Best.
Exposing more lies by journalists who, typically, cannot balance a checkbook let alone comprehend statistics....
Why Do Buses Come in Threes? The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life by Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham
This delightful book requires a bit of algebra once in a while, but answers some nagging questions. Why DO buses come in threes? Why am I always in traffic jams? Why can't I find a four-leaf clover?
Duelling Idiots and Other Probability Puzzlers by Paul J. Nathan
This book regularly requires freshman probability. Engineers who have taken a statistics course will enjoy this book.
The Lady Tasting Tea by David Salsburg
R. A. Fisher, a pioneer in statistics, created a famous example concerning a woman who claimed to be able to tell whether the milk was poured into the tea or the tea was poured into the milk; hence the title of the engaging story about statistics in the 20th century and many of the wonderful things that statistics has done. And not an equation in it!
Struck by Lightning: the curious world of probabilities by Jeffrey S. Rosenthal
What "statistical" studies do and don't show. Rare events (will you get struck by lightning?). Evolution and probability. How probability keeps your email box free of spam and your spam folder full of spam.
Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner.
At times entertaining, this book won't help you to apply economics in your personal life. Before you read this book, be sure to read the discerning reviews by Ariel Rubinstein ("Freak-Freakonomics", The Economists' Voice 3(9), 2006) and John DiNardo ("Freakonomics: Scholarship in the Service of Storytelling", American Law and Economics Review 8(3), 2006, 615-626)
BETTER THAN FREAKONOMICS BY FAR....
The Armchair Economist by Steven Landsburg
The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
The Logic of Life by Tim Harford
I personally prefer Harford to Landsburg, but your mileage may vary.