2/2 Is it really important that one be able to write a mathematical proof or short essay under severe time constraints? Is this the way it’s done outside the classroom? Mostly, no. Take home exams and papers are much better for everyone, but then you have to deal with other problems.

1/2 As someone who is legally blind and has **very occasionally** asked for special accommodation, I think they should generally be much harder to get. However, I think the real issue is often one of simple logistics. Why are so many tests timed anyway?

I did appreciate that it was a Canadian survey but couldn’t resist the joke and didn’t know enough Canadian legal history to do it right. Feel free to insert the appropriately comparable Canadian law reference.

Of course it should be “part of the curriculum”! The Scopes trial was a milestone evert that everyone should know about.

I’m with you up to a point. But a lot of SF is landfill over what used to be the bay, and the ground there has a habit of shaking from time to time. There are real physical constraints on building high in, say, the Marina. Liquifaction is a real thing.

Thanks! This helped me better understand our current disgusting Washington DC weather. And a happy amendment to the article: the Apple Weather App now reports dew point alongside relative humidity.

I would be interested in understanding the critique better because, as you say, she is a domain expert. I don’t think starting by modeling structure (as opposed to land value) losses is at all controversial among either economists or cat risk modelers.

The assumption isn’t that the land has no value, but rather that the land is not lost in the fires (which is obviously true).

I think it’s not so much that people care about winning a primary, as that the primary process allows one to identify the candidate with the most effective message. I thought Harris was a strong candidate, but perhaps another Democrat would have been stronger.

In the far future it may be possible to plug wired headphones directly into a special port on your phone. Just imagine what that would be like!

Tidycensus rocks. I love it so much. Thank you for all you do.

You should have had a trigger warning on this tweet. Now I’m pissed off about Google Reader all over again.