Actually the predictions really aren't legitimate... here's why:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/278/533 7/487
Sorry guys, earthquake predictions are still a WAYS away. Basically prediction algorithms are only slightly better than random, and in fact the algorithm used by this guy uses very little physics and isn't very accurate.
Also, about earthquake "predictions" that turned out to be correct, many of these people make 100s of predictions and when one happens to be good they claim they're geniuses... think of basic statistics:-)
I would just like to give y'all some insight into Princeton's OIT department. As a student at Princeton I must say they really don't quite live up to out universities reputation. They are very slow to respond to demand for services, and new services are often incomplete or significantly too difficult to use.
In any case, I sent an email to Princeton's OIT with some of the comments posted here and maybe someone will take some notice. I'll be sure to post any reply I might possibly get:-)...
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I must say that I was really quite disappointed to learn that OIT employes people as closed minded as Howard Strauss. I would highly recommend reading his article, "The FREE, 0% APR, Better Sex, No Effort Diet" (http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460). Although I am not one who says that any for-profit closed-source software is a bad solution, I do believe that OIT could benefit greatly from involving people who look at all possible software solutions available, and not just those from major corporations.
The attitude portrayed by Mr. Strauss towards students is also stunningly demeaning and insulting.
I do hope that Mr. Strauss' views do not reflect the overall attitude at OIT and that some action be taken to inform him of the quality of certain open source solutions and this universities students. I believe the fact that two thirds of the internet's web servers are run on open source software speaks for itself.
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Actually the predictions really aren't legitimate... here's why: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/278/533 7/487
Sorry guys, earthquake predictions are still a WAYS away. Basically prediction algorithms are only slightly better than random, and in fact the algorithm used by this guy uses very little physics and isn't very accurate.
Also, about earthquake "predictions" that turned out to be correct, many of these people make 100s of predictions and when one happens to be good they claim they're geniuses... think of basic statistics :-)
I would just like to give y'all some insight into Princeton's OIT department. As a student at Princeton I must say they really don't quite live up to out universities reputation. They are very slow to respond to demand for services, and new services are often incomplete or significantly too difficult to use.
:-)...
In any case, I sent an email to Princeton's OIT with some of the comments posted here and maybe someone will take some notice. I'll be sure to post any reply I might possibly get
____________
I must say that I was really quite disappointed to learn that OIT employes people as closed minded as Howard Strauss. I would highly recommend reading his article, "The FREE, 0% APR, Better Sex, No Effort Diet" (http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460). Although I am not one who says that any for-profit closed-source software is a bad solution, I do believe that OIT could benefit greatly from involving people who look at all possible software solutions available, and not just those from major corporations.
The attitude portrayed by Mr. Strauss towards students is also stunningly demeaning and insulting.
I do hope that Mr. Strauss' views do not reflect the overall attitude at OIT and that some action be taken to inform him of the quality of certain open source solutions and this universities students. I believe the fact that two thirds of the internet's web servers are run on open source software speaks for itself.
Thank you for your time,