In what seems to be
customary with me, I’ll list my thoughts first. This article seems to be mining for controversy; for something that will grab readers and drive comments. But
on to the meat of the article: Brooks talks about two economies, one rooted in
the private sector and another driven by healthcare, education and government.
He talks about the differences in ideology between these two economics, and how
the differences will cause a bumpy future. While there’s a chance he’s right
about the bumpy interplay between the two, I seem to think that very quickly
the application of one to the other will expose what works best.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Controlled, Randomized Trials
While this article feels a bit simplistic, Brooks hits on an important fact: current modeling, especially
economic modeling, is able to tell us very little about the world we live in.
As someone who majored in economics, this is something that became more and more
apparent with every class I took. Each model requires many assumptions to be
able to derive anything of value from them. As compared to the dynamic world,
these models hold too many variables static (which is necessary to learn from
the models in an academic sense-but limits the real-world applications). Brooks
points to the many randomized trials that Capital One and Google run, and
asserts that government should run them as well. Brooks admits the reasons
government has not thus far. And while the lack of infrastructure is a huge
reason, another big reason is the current incentive structure in government.
Government officials that run real studies, ask the tough questions, and
publicize the results often end up alienating large swaths of the populations,
which often include their constituencies. In a political world where
re-election is everything, avoiding anything that may polarize your voting base
is a best practice.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Bible Quizzing
During my four years of Bible Quizzing, my competitive spirit was tapped into at the highest level. Even in my early years when I was not on ultra-competitive teams, I relished watching the finals of each meet, whether it was Amanda Lengyel and Arrika Hubbard from Salem or Jason McKenzie and Will Snyder from Tacoma or the Ellis' from Bainbridge Island, watching that highest level of District quizzing was always fascinating and inspiring to me. My final two years my brother and I were the ones on that stage being watched by many others. A common sentiment among those winning teams was a sense of accomplishment as well as a sense of relief, since most of the time they expected to win. Not winning was, in a small way, a let down.
Fast forward to this year. I have become involved again with Bible Quizzing, this time as one helping out with the program. Just as before, there are a few very strong teams that always end up near the top at every meet, namely the Wilson's from Fox Island and the 3-headed monster from NSA. These teams traded titles for the first 3 meets; and the team that came up 2nd at each meet, while happy for the winning team, definitely experienced disappointment.
At District Meet #4, something different entirely happened. Woodinville has had a strong team all year, 5 girls, two sets of siblings, and those siblings have parents that were strong quizzers---all things that typically result in a strong team. In Meets 1-3 they performed at a high level, but were never able to make it into the final quiz. District 3 was also a disappointing one individually for their top 2 quizzers, extremely talented quizzers, and ones with very high expectations of themselves. They took their studying very seriously between Meets 3 and 4, and arrived at Meet 4 with higher, yet guarded expectations.
Prelims went as usual, very successfully. In their first Final 9 quiz, however, it was obvious that this was a different team than in past meets. They easily won that quiz and moved into Quiz D, the hardest of the Final 9 bracket (until finals). They came up short in Quiz D, but took 2nd to mighty NSA. They took care of business in Quiz G, winning to make it into finals for the first time all year.
They dominated in Quiz #1, forcing NSA to win Quiz #2.
NSA narrowly won quiz #2 with a correct answer on question #20.
Quiz #3 was a back and forth affair, displaying extremely strong quizzing by all. Watching quizzers jump very very fast and convert these jumps into correct answers is quite the spectacle to watch. Through 19 questions, Woodinville and NSA were tied. The winner of the quiz would take home the title.
Question #20 was a Finish-The-Verse question. Woodinville won the jump, beating out a host of talented quizzers from NSA and Chapel Hill. The jump was "No di...", a seemingly impossible phrase, but I'm sure many quizzers knew that it was identifiable. Through 15 of her 30 allotted seconds, Woodinville's quizzer was unable to locate the verse in her mind. However, with 15 seconds left it came to her in a moment of clarity. She hurriedly quote through the verse in about 5 seconds, but did not do so word perfect. Her second time through proved to be word-perfect, and with 4 seconds left on her clock, she was proclaimed "correct."
What followed was a moment of pure joy and mayhem. Pure joy on the faces of Woodinville's quizzers, who had seen their weeks of hard work pay off with a sweet victory. Pure mayhem and joy from everyone else watching the quiz, even the opposing teams, who recognized the hard work and precise execution, and was genuinely happy for Woodinville.
It's moments like that that inspire us all. Quizzers see that hard work does pay off. We're all reminded that although quiz meets are competitions and there can only be one winner, there really aren't any losers. We see how much success means to these kids. We see how much everyone roots for each other to do well. Coaches, officials and parents see how their constant and selfless involvement creates this kind of experience for so many.
Quizzers participate in Bible Quizzing for many reasons: some love the competition, some love how it gets them into God's word, some love the friends they make, some kids aren't even Christians-they just joined because of a single friend. Whatever their reasons or motivations, at the end of the day they are immersed in an environment filled with God's word. Kids develop leadership skills, they get better at reading and public speaking, they learn discipline through studying, they learn how they learn and study best, they learn how to mentor and encourage, they learn how to cope with extreme pressure, they learn teamwork, they learn how to think strategically, they learn how to deal with defeat, they learn how to win and lose graciously. And hopefully, in all this, they grow a little closer to God.
Fast forward to this year. I have become involved again with Bible Quizzing, this time as one helping out with the program. Just as before, there are a few very strong teams that always end up near the top at every meet, namely the Wilson's from Fox Island and the 3-headed monster from NSA. These teams traded titles for the first 3 meets; and the team that came up 2nd at each meet, while happy for the winning team, definitely experienced disappointment.
At District Meet #4, something different entirely happened. Woodinville has had a strong team all year, 5 girls, two sets of siblings, and those siblings have parents that were strong quizzers---all things that typically result in a strong team. In Meets 1-3 they performed at a high level, but were never able to make it into the final quiz. District 3 was also a disappointing one individually for their top 2 quizzers, extremely talented quizzers, and ones with very high expectations of themselves. They took their studying very seriously between Meets 3 and 4, and arrived at Meet 4 with higher, yet guarded expectations.
Prelims went as usual, very successfully. In their first Final 9 quiz, however, it was obvious that this was a different team than in past meets. They easily won that quiz and moved into Quiz D, the hardest of the Final 9 bracket (until finals). They came up short in Quiz D, but took 2nd to mighty NSA. They took care of business in Quiz G, winning to make it into finals for the first time all year.
They dominated in Quiz #1, forcing NSA to win Quiz #2.
NSA narrowly won quiz #2 with a correct answer on question #20.
Quiz #3 was a back and forth affair, displaying extremely strong quizzing by all. Watching quizzers jump very very fast and convert these jumps into correct answers is quite the spectacle to watch. Through 19 questions, Woodinville and NSA were tied. The winner of the quiz would take home the title.
Question #20 was a Finish-The-Verse question. Woodinville won the jump, beating out a host of talented quizzers from NSA and Chapel Hill. The jump was "No di...", a seemingly impossible phrase, but I'm sure many quizzers knew that it was identifiable. Through 15 of her 30 allotted seconds, Woodinville's quizzer was unable to locate the verse in her mind. However, with 15 seconds left it came to her in a moment of clarity. She hurriedly quote through the verse in about 5 seconds, but did not do so word perfect. Her second time through proved to be word-perfect, and with 4 seconds left on her clock, she was proclaimed "correct."
What followed was a moment of pure joy and mayhem. Pure joy on the faces of Woodinville's quizzers, who had seen their weeks of hard work pay off with a sweet victory. Pure mayhem and joy from everyone else watching the quiz, even the opposing teams, who recognized the hard work and precise execution, and was genuinely happy for Woodinville.
It's moments like that that inspire us all. Quizzers see that hard work does pay off. We're all reminded that although quiz meets are competitions and there can only be one winner, there really aren't any losers. We see how much success means to these kids. We see how much everyone roots for each other to do well. Coaches, officials and parents see how their constant and selfless involvement creates this kind of experience for so many.
Quizzers participate in Bible Quizzing for many reasons: some love the competition, some love how it gets them into God's word, some love the friends they make, some kids aren't even Christians-they just joined because of a single friend. Whatever their reasons or motivations, at the end of the day they are immersed in an environment filled with God's word. Kids develop leadership skills, they get better at reading and public speaking, they learn discipline through studying, they learn how they learn and study best, they learn how to mentor and encourage, they learn how to cope with extreme pressure, they learn teamwork, they learn how to think strategically, they learn how to deal with defeat, they learn how to win and lose graciously. And hopefully, in all this, they grow a little closer to God.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Best Music of 2011 (1-5)
1. Bon Iver-Bon Iver, 99
2. M83-Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, 95
3. Kanye West & Jay-Z-Watch The Throne, 89
4. Deer Tick-Divine Providence, 85
5. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins-Diamond Mine, 84
Friday, December 23, 2011
Best Music of 2011 (6-15)
6. The Black Keys-El Camino, 82
7. Admiral Fallow-Boots Met My Face, 78
8. Blind Pilot-We Are The Tide, 77
9. Wiz Khalifa-Rolling Papers, 77
10. I Break Horses-Hearts, 76
11. Dawes-Nothing Is Wrong, 75
12. Lisa Hannigan-Passenger, 75
13. Typhoon-A New Kind of House, 75
14. Various Artists-The Book of Mormon Soundtrack, 75
15. Okkervil River-I Am Very Far, 73
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Best Music of 2011 (16-25)
16. The Decemberists-The King is Dead, 73
17. The Dodos-No Color, 73
18. The Jayhawks-Mockingbird Time, 73
19. We Are Augustines-Rise Ye Sunken Ships, 73
20. Apparat-The Devil's Walk, 72
21. Beirut-The Rip Tide, 72
22. Lupe Fiasco-Lasers, 72
23. Wilco-The Whole Love, 72
24. Adele-21, 71
25. Cold War Kids-Mine Is Yours, 71
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Best Music of 2011 (26-50)
26. The Belle Brigade-The Belle Brigade, 71
27. The Roots-Undun, 71
28. Elbow-Build a Rocket Boys!, 70
29. Marketa Irglova-Anar, 70
30. The Joy Formidable-The Big Roar, 70
31. Noah and the Whale-Last Night on Earth, 69
32. The Mountain Goats-All Eternals Deck, 69
33. Bright Eyes-The People's Key, 69
34. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-Hysterical, 69
35. Middle Brother-Middle Brother, 68
36. The Lonely Forest-Arrows, 68
37. Beyonce-4, 67
38. Cold Cave-Cherish The Light, 67
39. Sum 41-Screaming Bloody Murder, 67
40. We Were Promised Jetpacks-In the Pit of the Stomach, 67
41. Crooked Fingers-Breaks in the Armor, 67
42. Grouplove-Never Trust a Happy Song, 67
43. Ben Folds-Best Imitation of Myself, 66
44. Future Islands-On The Water, 66
45. Phantogram-Nightlife EP, 66
46. Ha Ha Tonka-Death of a Decade, 65
47. Danger Mouse and Danielle Luipi-Rome, 65
48. F****d Up-David Comes To Life, 65
49. St. Vincent-Strange Mercy, 65
50. Gem Club-Breakers, 64
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