eli knaap
@knaaptime.com
urban planning & public policy prof @ UC Irvine | core dev @ PySAL & QuantEcon | urban social science & spatial data science | open source
https://knaaptime.com
https://knaaptime.com
Pinned
eli knaap
@knaaptime.com
· Jun 9
there's a ~complete rough draft of Urban Analysis up on my website (as in, code executes all the way through)
knaaptime.com/urban_analysis
still lots of editing to do, but if you're into cities, Python, or spatial analysis, give it a look and let me know what's wrong :)
knaaptime.com/urban_analysis
still lots of editing to do, but if you're into cities, Python, or spatial analysis, give it a look and let me know what's wrong :)
Reposted by eli knaap
PACKERS WIN THERE IS HOPE FOR AMERICA
December 8, 2025 at 12:24 AM
PACKERS WIN THERE IS HOPE FOR AMERICA
caleb sucks! the bears are trash! 😝😝😝😝😝
dont let the commentators lie to you. caleb sucks. the bears are trash. and everyone in the nfc is deeply embarrassed chicago has a number one seed
these are facts
these are facts
December 8, 2025 at 12:23 AM
caleb sucks! the bears are trash! 😝😝😝😝😝
Reposted by eli knaap
I would love to see Parsons sack a ref
December 8, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I would love to see Parsons sack a ref
we just not gonna call micah getting held on every play?
December 8, 2025 at 12:16 AM
we just not gonna call micah getting held on every play?
dont let the commentators lie to you. caleb sucks. the bears are trash. and everyone in the nfc is deeply embarrassed chicago has a number one seed
these are facts
these are facts
December 7, 2025 at 10:22 PM
dont let the commentators lie to you. caleb sucks. the bears are trash. and everyone in the nfc is deeply embarrassed chicago has a number one seed
these are facts
these are facts
man.
@andrew.heiss.phd is [an open source] legend. I'm putting together quarto websites for my winter courses and following his examples is just impossibly useful. Down to the way he parameterizes using variables so content is reusable
(i've also used his hikmah manuscript templates for ages)
@andrew.heiss.phd is [an open source] legend. I'm putting together quarto websites for my winter courses and following his examples is just impossibly useful. Down to the way he parameterizes using variables so content is reusable
(i've also used his hikmah manuscript templates for ages)
December 4, 2025 at 4:11 AM
man.
@andrew.heiss.phd is [an open source] legend. I'm putting together quarto websites for my winter courses and following his examples is just impossibly useful. Down to the way he parameterizes using variables so content is reusable
(i've also used his hikmah manuscript templates for ages)
@andrew.heiss.phd is [an open source] legend. I'm putting together quarto websites for my winter courses and following his examples is just impossibly useful. Down to the way he parameterizes using variables so content is reusable
(i've also used his hikmah manuscript templates for ages)
Reposted by eli knaap
In lieu of thanksgiving I suggest holding a sort of family court convicting your most annoying relatives of various offenses
November 26, 2025 at 6:32 PM
In lieu of thanksgiving I suggest holding a sort of family court convicting your most annoying relatives of various offenses
no one, ever: i cant spell economics, but i've had a bank account most of my life. Let me tell you how finance *Actually Works*
_fucking everyone_, at all times: i have zero training in urban studies but I stepped foot in a house once. I am the world's foremost expert on housing and development
_fucking everyone_, at all times: i have zero training in urban studies but I stepped foot in a house once. I am the world's foremost expert on housing and development
November 26, 2025 at 4:56 PM
no one, ever: i cant spell economics, but i've had a bank account most of my life. Let me tell you how finance *Actually Works*
_fucking everyone_, at all times: i have zero training in urban studies but I stepped foot in a house once. I am the world's foremost expert on housing and development
_fucking everyone_, at all times: i have zero training in urban studies but I stepped foot in a house once. I am the world's foremost expert on housing and development
Reposted by eli knaap
My third point is that the large rise in Black unemployment over the past few months is a reminder that aggregate demand has important distributional consequences. Strong labor markets disproportionately help less privileged workers, weaker labor markets disproportionately hurt them.
November 25, 2025 at 9:18 PM
My third point is that the large rise in Black unemployment over the past few months is a reminder that aggregate demand has important distributional consequences. Strong labor markets disproportionately help less privileged workers, weaker labor markets disproportionately hurt them.
Reposted by eli knaap
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
sometimes you have to call `plt.show()` to make quarto understand a figure is a figure 🤷♂️
November 22, 2025 at 4:57 AM
sometimes you have to call `plt.show()` to make quarto understand a figure is a figure 🤷♂️
Reposted by eli knaap
This seems important. Current AI models can't read graphs. They "see" what they expect to see, even if the data shows something else.
Introducing bluffbench, a new tool to evaluate how well LLMs actually see data plots.
When we trick LLMs with secret #RStats transformations, they can miss the visual contradiction.
bluffbench helps us measure this "blind spot" in AI coding agents. Learn more: posit.co/blog/introdu...
When we trick LLMs with secret #RStats transformations, they can miss the visual contradiction.
bluffbench helps us measure this "blind spot" in AI coding agents. Learn more: posit.co/blog/introdu...
When plotting, LLMs see what they expect to see - Posit
Data science agents need to accurately read plots even when the content contradicts their expectations. Our testing shows today's LLMs still struggle here.
posit.co
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This seems important. Current AI models can't read graphs. They "see" what they expect to see, even if the data shows something else.
slow clap
November 19, 2025 at 5:30 PM
slow clap
Reposted by eli knaap
as part of this journey, i also learned that knitr (and thus quarto, as a side effect) can automatically translate interactive graphics (e.g. leaflet maps) into static images via webshot2 (github.com/rstudio/webs...), which is just awesome and i wish the jupyter engine could pull that off too
November 19, 2025 at 5:25 PM
as part of this journey, i also learned that knitr (and thus quarto, as a side effect) can automatically translate interactive graphics (e.g. leaflet maps) into static images via webshot2 (github.com/rstudio/webs...), which is just awesome and i wish the jupyter engine could pull that off too
took me three days to realize the reason this quarto doc wont compile to pdf is latex chokes on the unicode characters that make up the tqdm progressbar
November 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
took me three days to realize the reason this quarto doc wont compile to pdf is latex chokes on the unicode characters that make up the tqdm progressbar
was about to issue effusive compliments, then noticed who's credited for the dataviz (and realized i dont have to because he knows his shit). Shoutout to @jensvb.bsky.social for the proper (and highly effective) use of diverging color
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
November 16, 2025 at 4:07 AM
was about to issue effusive compliments, then noticed who's credited for the dataviz (and realized i dont have to because he knows his shit). Shoutout to @jensvb.bsky.social for the proper (and highly effective) use of diverging color
eagles, bears, and republicans all winning in the same 48 hours is the literal definition of the worst this country has to offer
November 11, 2025 at 4:31 AM
eagles, bears, and republicans all winning in the same 48 hours is the literal definition of the worst this country has to offer
Reposted by eli knaap
Millions of Democratic voters on Tuesday: Fight these guys. Fight them.
Senate Democrats: We heard you loud and clear and we will give in
Senate Democrats: We heard you loud and clear and we will give in
November 9, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Millions of Democratic voters on Tuesday: Fight these guys. Fight them.
Senate Democrats: We heard you loud and clear and we will give in
Senate Democrats: We heard you loud and clear and we will give in
spatial opportunity analysis as an input to policy is extremely important (and obviously very close to my heart). But it's stunning to me that these are still the methods employed, the methods doc is sooo sparse, and there's no open-source infrastructure driving any of this
The draft 2026 TCAC Opportunity Maps are now out. belonging.berkeley.edu/2026-ctcachc...
2026 CTCAC/HCD AFFH Mapping Tool
belonging.berkeley.edu
November 2, 2025 at 11:45 PM
spatial opportunity analysis as an input to policy is extremely important (and obviously very close to my heart). But it's stunning to me that these are still the methods employed, the methods doc is sooo sparse, and there's no open-source infrastructure driving any of this
Reposted by eli knaap
So, what does our study find? The RxKids program is a program that started in Flint, which provides universal benefits during pregnancy & the first year of a child's life. We find that the "demand-side" effects of the program are sufficient to provide sizable spillover benefits.
A new analysis by the Upjohn Institute finds that the Rx Kids program delivers measurable economic benefits to families and the broader local economy in Flint, Michigan. Read the full report
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
October 30, 2025 at 7:41 PM
So, what does our study find? The RxKids program is a program that started in Flint, which provides universal benefits during pregnancy & the first year of a child's life. We find that the "demand-side" effects of the program are sufficient to provide sizable spillover benefits.
oh silly WaPo, an interactive chart wont change anything. I explain this intro stats problem to my gambling buddies at least once a month and they all still think they're smarter than the laws of probability
How America’s favorite sports bet is fueling sportsbook profits
Parlays are becoming more popular, accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Post analysis of betting data. Bettors lose billions a year on these bets.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...
Parlays are becoming more popular, accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Post analysis of betting data. Bettors lose billions a year on these bets.
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...
Americans can’t stop betting parlays. Sportbooks are cashing in.
As betting booms, parlays are accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
oh silly WaPo, an interactive chart wont change anything. I explain this intro stats problem to my gambling buddies at least once a month and they all still think they're smarter than the laws of probability
Reposted by eli knaap
RFK is undoing human subjects protections so he can conduct placebo trials of vaccines. That means infecting people knowingly. I wonder who will “volunteer” for these trials? If history is any guide, a lot of incarcerated and other powerless people.
Dismantling the Institutional Review Board (IRB), that oversees all human subjects research, is bad. Really bad.
The entire HR department at the CDC is gone. Everyone at the IRB, which makes sure studies are conducted ethically and rigorously, and the ethics office, which oversee conflicts of interest for CDC leaders and advisory committee members, were also let go.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
October 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
RFK is undoing human subjects protections so he can conduct placebo trials of vaccines. That means infecting people knowingly. I wonder who will “volunteer” for these trials? If history is any guide, a lot of incarcerated and other powerless people.