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Mathematics Skills More in Demand Than Ever
knownsense writes "Business week has a nice article (feel good, low on detail, vague numbers) on the rise of maths and mathematicians in a world that is increasingly obsessed with statistics, advertising, search engines, and algorithms. The article also deals with issues of privacy. How has mathematics, statistics and other number driven aspects of life impacted you in the last decade?"
It's just unfortunate that so few people do have an understanding of statistics. I've lost count of the newspaper stories, even years-long media-fuelled "controversies"-, which are based entirely on misunderstood, misrepresented, or malformed statistics. "How to Lie with Statistics" should be required reading in high school.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
While it was true it cost someone his job, it also effectively lowered the price of the subcontractors operations, which in turn, will make it cheaper for you. When will people understand that in the long run better technology is a win-win, no matter how you look at it. Yes widespread RFID will cost alot of people their jobs at supermarkets when people can just go through the exit and the price is deducted automatically from the account. These people, althought sad and with no job at first, will find other jobs and society will be better off in general.
So, a 2,500 year old technological advance cost some poor guy his job.
That's one way to look at it. There's no denying that technology replaces some low level jobs. But on the other end the boss guy now has more money to spend on something else. He might pocket the money, or he might fire another guy and use the combined money to hire a more skilled helper. Then take on jobs that require more skill than simply staking out building sites.
If technology simply eliminated jobs without creating new ones, we'd all have been out of work a few thousand years ago.
AccountKiller
I used to think like that, too. Not so much anymore. Try "Player Piano" by Kurt Vonnegut.
There's always going to be a bottom rung of people who really can't do much more than run a cash register. What happens to them?
I can't imagine how many more kids would learn math and be good at it if it weren't for the whole "math is hard and dumb" attitude of the general public in the USA. I don't think kids go into math thinking it's all that hard, but teachers even tell them it is. When that kid goes home, his parents tell him it is. The media makes math "stupid" and even in cartoons, portrays people that are good at it as social outcasts. How is this helping us in any way? I think the best advance that Math could take is to achieve a positive image in society. If that happened, then its advancements in science could only increase faster.
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> When will people understand that in the long run better technology is a win-win, no matter how
> you look at it.
A `win win` in which context? Are people happier, safer, richer etc when there is more technology around them? I though technology was neutral? People in the 1950's were told that washing machines, vaccuum cleaners etc would allow housewifes/etc to get the jobs done so quickly they'd have more time for leisure, but repeated surveys of housewife's/etc show no increase in happiness.
You don't have more fun playing an xbox360 game than you did playing on a spectrum/amiga/psx1, you don't have more fun driving a modern car, or watching a new film etc. Technology is having a negative impact on the environment, jobs (wages, hours worked) etc. These are not the only result of technology, just the way it's being used. We live in an abusive social system where the minority of the worlds population controls the majority of its resources - the rest of use who are lucky enough not to live somewhere where we're likely to die from easily treatable diseases/problems like malnutrition, cholera, diarreah, malaria have to work longer and harder to take home less money to pay more for less. Technology just makes that process faster.
There's always going to be a bottom rung of people who really can't do much more than run a cash register. What happens to them?
The society works hard to shrink them to a smaller and smaller percentage of the populace through education. Fify years ago I'll bet you the percentage of unskilled labor was much higher in the US than it is now.
AccountKiller
> People today are living longer and better than 50 years ago
People are living longer largely due to decreased infant mortality.
> Still, if you really think things are getting worse, let's make you King with absolute
> authority. What would you do to change things?
More equality of access to healthcare. Discourage the trend towards obesity by ensuring people can afford and have access to fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Encourage people to excersize. Encourage better/cheaper public transport so you don't have 1 person per car all over the planet. Ensure cycling is safe anc convenient.
That's a start, for developed countries. The main problem is in developing problems. While Mr Bush is spending billions fighting `terrorism` many, many, many more people are dying from problems like those I mentioned before. Why not take a look at the number of people dying each year from them? How much money would it take to sort that out?
If you're obsessed with using technology then there's no reason why we couldn't spend less time exploring space - just for a few years, we'll get back to it - and more time working on desalination systems, solar power capture, wave energy capture, hybrid/alternatively powered transport - stuff like that.
Really, the problems are obvious, but because it's not in your face every single day we don't think about it. If there was a part of your town that people were dying of, say, diarreah or sleeping sickness and the cure cost a few pence you wouldn't say `oh, but they're across town, that's not my problem` - you'd probably go there this weekend and help out, like what happens when there's a hurricane or earthquake. That doesn't happen when it's happening across the world, even though thanks to jet technology (a consequence of the military angle that infects all research) you could be there this time tomorrow.
I have heard this before. When I was working on a math PhD in the 90's they said the same thing. But then, it was Wall Street calling.
Know math... Yes... But as a platform to an applied field where you will stand tall with a strong math background.
Otherwise, get ready for low pay unless you graduated from MIT, NYU , or Cal Tech in a program designed specifically for the "latest" applied math craze. I watched graduates from a top 10 Applied Math Program grovel for 1 year post-docs. Many went into Comp Sci AFTER receiving their PhD because they did not want to enjoy the bountiful $35K they would get as a post-doc.
By the time a place like Business Week has an article on this, the top math programs located nearby the trend (Read that Boston, NY or Silicon Valley) already have a specialized sub-degree for the trend.
Also, be aware that PhD's tend to prefer hiring students from their adviser or their academic friends. Also a limiting factor for getting a job offer as these high end applied research jobs.
Yep, stick with your applied field and a strong math background.
This is a widely-cited and often misquoted (and misunderstood) theorem in economics. "Win-win" in this situation requires that the winners compensate the losers. If you don't pay compensation for the loss (e.g., the salary they would have earned), then you have a winner and a loser, period. You have no way to say that one's gain offsets the other's pain.
The economic theorem says that the monetary gain for the winners is great enough that it is *possible* for the winners to compensate the losers so to leave as well off as before. In this case everyone is at least as well off. But if you don't compensate the losers, you can't say a thing.
But what happens when your educational system is barely able to keep up with the current demand for educated workers?
why am I better of that I can buy a bag of apples at a 2% discount?
why am I better of that I can buy this bag of apples 10% quicker then 5 years ago?
why?
perhaps I would be better of this bag of apples was grown in Ontario and shipped to me a few hundred mile, rather then the few thousand it probably was.
the ability to Consume more does not make the world a better place.
--meh--
Fat people are fat for a number of reasons.
unhealthy food is cheap
unhealthy food is fashionable
unhealthy food is heavily advertised (when did you last see an ad for carrots, rice etc)
unhealthy food is available in every city,town, highstreet,corner shop, school,office
Fify years ago I'll bet you the percentage of unskilled labor was much higher in the US than it is now.
... especially in a country where the largest private employer is Wal-Mart, a country with a 60 Billion+ per month trade deficit and an economy where 75% of GDP is consumer spending. The US is nothing more than a spoiled heiress spending her inheritance.
I have a hard time believing that
> People in the first world are living longer due to medical techniques and drugs that didn't
> exist years ago.
That statement is true, but misleading. It's just that so many children didn't make it until their, say, 2nd birthday that the average was massively lowered.
> Exactly how are you going to compel people to do this stuff? Outlaw individual ownership of
> automobiles? Additionally, fruit and veggies aren't that expensive as far as the developed
> countries go.
Didn't you read the original question? I'm the king now - you've got to do what I say otherwise I'll cut your head off! Bicycles will be freely available a la the `white bike` scheme of Amsterdam (only I'll kill bike thieves).
> Why is it the responsibility of the developed world to square this away?
We can do it, so we have a moral responsibility to do it. The developed world spends billions of dollars on the military and entertainment, which would be far more usefully spent on preventing deaths. Why not read up on sleeping sickness in Africa, to pick just one problem.
> This sounds suspiciously like a hint at wealth redistribution.
You say it like it's a bad thing. Where does wealth come from? Natural resources, or services built using them, and largely from undeveloped countries. Why shouldn't this be spread around. You're so interested in people `earning` money/property that you're prepared to allow literally millions of people to die every year from problems which cause practically no deaths at all in developed countries just to maintain your belief in an immoral method of running countries? What percentage of the US GDP is given away each year? If you don't think it should be, why not petition for less. But if it IS the moral thing to do, then compare that with the amount spent on the military.
> Peaceful space exploration must go on for the advancement of the human race.
What's the speed of light? How long does it take at that speed to get to the nearest star? Do the maths - what's the point? Sure, it's interesting - I'm into all that, but at the moment it's not a priority. Each shuttle launch is `worth` millions of human lives. Still think it's worth it? Like I said, we'll get back to it. The universe isn't going anywhere - we're certainly not.
> The reality is that I share more cultural and economic bonds with my fellow citizens,
> therefore their well-being is more important to me.
A very weak argument. On that basis you personally wouldn't find anything immoral about the Nazi genocide of the Jews - unless they had legally binding contracts with you, at which point it would suddenly become immoral.
> You've stated some global problems with
> approximately zero feasible concrete solutions to any of them.
On the contrary, you've just come up with excuses for not making the effort to change anything.
We had 2 color televisions with cable. "Why?," you ask? because there is literally NO OTHER WAY OF ESCAPE in a society that focuses around entertainment!
I call utter BS!
They're called libraries. You walk in, get a library card and walk out with a book *AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU*. After you've finished that book, return it and get another one - *still free*! Nowadays, there are almost always free internet connections available as well.
Don't give me that crap about "You just don't know what it's like." I used to have to take my showers, so I could look presentable at menial labor job interviews, at the local campground because I couldn't afford to pay the water bill - much less the cable TV bill.
Stop blaming society for not holding your hand through *every* point in your "oh, woe is me - I'm so pathetic" life.
Fify years ago I'll bet you the percentage of unskilled labor was much higher in the US than it is now.
I wouldn't bet that. I'd bet that the so-called "unskilled laborer" of 50 years ago was better educated than the typical burger-flipper, low-level corporate or government bureaucrat, first-teir tech support or Congressman is today.
Have you ever heard of "College education today is like high school education of 50 years ago?" Well, people have been saying that for at least 50 years and there's a lot of truth to it.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
It's true. Our nation symbol is no longer the American Eagle, but Paris Hilton.
So, let me get this straight. You are with a ploor family, desperate for money, below the poverty line and getting helped by the state BUT they blow 20% of their income on cable? Did they also eat out at McDo regularly and buy cigarettes? Because for entertainment value, it does not get any better either.
However, i have new for you: Entertainment does not further anything. It does not allow you to grow, get better and get out of a bad situation. It is just a legal drug that helps you forget your trouble. Troubles dont go away by themselves, you need to face them to solve them, so staying in front of a TV wont solve anything. Neither will bitching or posting on
I know people that started with nothing (kicked out of their family home at 16 after being beaten by their dad), but they are successful today. How? They made their choice, got loans and credits, got an education and worked it out. Worked to pay their tuitions and boards, worked in class to succeed and worked and innovated to pay their bills. They could do it, but of course, it was a LOT more difficult than sitting on their butts watching TV and saying how desperate they were.
Life does not always deal you a fair situation and some needs to make more efforts to reach a given point, but USA is a land of opportunities. You can get an education and a job, but it will need LOTS of efforts if you dont get any help (family mostly).
Hope is how you look at things, not what is passed down to you. Every problem has a solution. Some required ungodly efforts to reach it...
(now, let's start the karma bashing...)
I happen to be one of those people. The trick is that you need to swallow your pride and understand that you are not so bright and work that much harder to keep up with the bright bulbs the best that you can. Reguardless of what overly-hopeful people say not every one can be Michael Jordan or the president or an astronaut etc. Some of us suck and wishing and/or practice won't change that. You do your best, add whatever value that you can and try to be happy with it. Live this and life will be fruitful and more pleasant but if its not then you did your best: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,. The courage to change the things I can,. And the wisdom to know the difference