Link mishmash

Here's some of what I've been reading/watching online lately.

1. From TED, on babies and how they "take statistics" to learn language. Super cute.

• Comprehension question: at what age did you stop being able to understand Mandarin?

• Presentation question: why does using FMRI/MEG/etc. increase one's credibility as a scientist? Several minutes of this 10-minute clip talk about brain activity and MEG output. But none of the important findings here are based on that data -- only speculation.

2. Via marginal revolution, a fair rent calculator.

This is for roommates deciding how much the big room with the extra window is worth. Based on this analysis, which uses surveys and hedonic regression to put numbers on preferences. (PS - "Hedonic Regression" would be a fantastic name for a nerd band.)


3. Two articles on credentialism in academia: from businessinsider, via Mike Bommarito; and from Steven Hsu, at Andrew Gelman's blog.

Interesting points made here. Has the value of formal, certified education increased or decreased? What about the quality of education? I've grown increasingly pessimistic about this topic of late.

4. And last, but not least a caption contest at wondermark (I love this web comic). Here's the pic. Submissions wanted.