Weekly Links

Math-related stuff you might've missed:

1)  From "Better Explained," one of the best learning sites on the Web, some discussion of the importance of intuition in learning:
http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuition-isnt-optional/

2)  "Futility Closet," succinctly, on Erdös et.al.'s 'friendship theorem":
http://www.futilitycloset.com/2015/06/06/the-friendship-theorem/

3)  86th edition of the "Math Teachers At Play" blog carnival:
http://zenomath.org/math-teachers-at-play/

4)  Mistakes, biases, and computer algorithms, from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/06/07/412481743/what-makes-algorithms-go-awry

5)  "SolveMyMaths" website linked to this BBC page of "bitesize" clips on 'the history and culture of maths':
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/znj2tfr

6)  FQXi announced the winners of their 2015 essay contest on the question "What is the mysterious connection between physics and mathematics?":
http://fqxi.org/community/essay/winners/2015.1
(haven't had time yet, but look forward to digging into some of these!)

7)  An economist complains about the trending "mathiness" within economics:
http://timharford.com/2015/06/down-with-mathiness/

8)  A mathematician works on the still-mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Flight MH370's:
http://www.inquisitr.com/2157346/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-math-prof/

9)  Triangles, the Triangulation Conjecture, and proof:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/06/10/4251713.htm

10)  IF you're fond of the technical, mathematical aspects of chess you may enjoy this post on the "value" of the various playing pieces:
http://www.sumsar.net/blog/2015/06/big-data-and-chess/

11)  Correlation vs. causation?... One blogger writes about THIS study report:
http://models.street-artists.org/2015/06/10/more-nonsense-from-epidemiology/

12)  A mathematician extols the value of liberal arts education:
http://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/science-students-need-the-liberal-arts/

13)  John McGowan on the Corinthian College scandal and STEM 'crisis':
http://math-blog.com/2015/06/12/the-corinthian-colleges-scandal-stem-shortage-claims-and-minorities/

14)  For those interested in such matters, a long, rich post from Lior Pachter following up on his prior contest regarding p-values:
https://liorpachter.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/i-was-wrong/


Potpourri BONUS! (extra NON-mathematical links of interest):

1)  Last weekend's TEDRadioHour, about "listening," included this wonderful 18-min. piece from Dave Isay founder of StoryCorps (which has grown far wider than I realized, and earned Dave a $1 million TED prize!). If you're not already familiar with the StoryCorps phone app. be sure to listen to the end to learn about it:
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/05/411734279/how-do-we-change-when-we-really-listen-to-the-people-we-love

2)  From The Moth, one woman's story of leaving the Mormon Church:
http://themoth.org/posts/stories/the-box