Introduction |
1 |
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Section 1: Politics, Economics, and the Nation |
Lani "Quota Queen" Guinier |
Voting, Power, and Mathematics |
9 |
|
Bosnia: Is it Vietnam or World War II? |
Psychological Availability and Anchoring Effects |
14 |
|
Recession Forecast If Steps Not Taken |
Unpredictability, Chaos, and Pooh-Poohing the Pooh-Bahs |
19 |
|
Afta Nafta, Lafta; Free Traders Exult |
Headlines and the Inverted Pyramid |
27 |
|
Pakistan's Bhutto Gambles in Trade Negotiations |
On Dice and Bluffing |
30 |
|
Clinton, Dole in Sparring Roles |
Who's News and Grammar Checkers |
34 |
|
Iraqi Death Toll Unknown |
Benchmark Figures in War, Crisis, and the Economy |
38 |
|
D'Amato Agrees Hillary Most Honest Person Clinton Knows |
Ambiguity and Nonstandard Models |
42 |
|
Fraud Alleged in Pennsylvania Senate Race |
Political and Mathematical Regression |
45 |
|
Cult Members Accuse Government of Plot |
Newspapers, Coincidences, and Conspiracy Theories |
49 |
|
Section 2: Local, Business, and Social Issues |
Company Charged with Ethnic Bias in Hiring |
Test Disparities Need Not Imply Racism |
59 |
|
SAT Top Quartile Score Declines |
Correlation, Prediction, and Improvement |
63 |
|
Guns Will Soon Kill More Than Cars |
Comparability and Intensity |
67 |
|
Abortion Activists Bomb Clinic |
Prohibitions and Arithmetical Arguments |
69 |
|
DNA Fingers Murderer |
Life, Death, and Conditional Probability |
72 |
|
Darts Trounce the Pros |
Luck and the Market |
74 |
|
Cellular Phones Tied to Brain Cancer |
Multiplication, Health, and Business |
79 |
|
GM Trucks Explode on Side Collision |
From Pity to Policy |
83 |
|
The $32 Billion Pepsi Challenge |
Advertising and Numencal Craftiness |
86 |
|
Brief Fads Dominate Toy Industry |
S-Curves and Novelty |
90 |
|
Area Residents Respond to Story |
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition |
94 |
|
Researchers Look to Local News for Trends |
The Present, the Future, and Ponzi Schemes |
96 |
|
Section 3: Lifestyle, Spin, and Soft News |
A Cyberpunk Woody Allen |
How to Write a Profile of the Fledgling Celebrity |
101 |
|
Tsongkerclintkinbro Wins |
Everybody's Got an Angle |
104 |
|
Florida Dentist Accused of Intentionally Spreading AIDS |
Rumors, Self Fulfilling Prophecies, and National Obsessions |
107 |
|
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Interlude: Selves, Heroes, and Dissociation |
110 |
|
Candidates Contradict Each Other's Denials |
Self Reference, Intentions, and the News |
113 |
|
Special Investigator Says Full Story Not Told |
Compressibility and the Complexity Horizon |
120 |
|
Newspaper Circulation Down |
Factoids on Tabloids |
126 |
|
Computers, Faxes, Copiers Still Rare in Russia |
Information and the Commissars |
128 |
|
Section 4: Science, Medicine, and the Environment |
Ranking Health Risks: Experts and Laymen Differ |
The Dyscalculia Syndrome |
133 |
|
Asbestos Removal Closes NYC Schools |
Contaminated Mountains Out of Mole Spills |
140 |
|
Super Collider a Waste of Money |
Science Journalism and Advocacy |
144 |
|
Harvard Psychiatrist Believes Patients Abducted by Aliens |
Mathematically Creating One's Own Pseudoscience |
147 |
|
FDA Caught Between Opposing Protesters |
Statistical Tests and Confidence Intervals |
151 |
|
Senators Eye Hawaii Health Care Plan |
Scaling Up Is So Very Hard to Do |
154 |
|
Breakthrough Forecast by End of Decade |
You Can't Know More Than You Know |
157 |
|
Rodent Population Patterns Difficult to Fathom |
Ecology, Chaos, and the News |
160 |
|
More Dismal Math Scores for U.S. Students |
X,Y,andU |
164 |
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Section 5: Food, Book Reviews, Sports, Obituaries |
761 Calories, 428 Mgs. Sodium, 22.6 Grams of Fat per Serving |
Meaningless Precision |
171 |
|
Top Designs for the Busy Working Woman |
Fashion, Unpredictability, and Toast |
173 |
|
Agassi Wins Again |
Scoring and Amplifying Differences |
176 |
|
New Survey Reveals Changing Attitudes |
Societal Gas Laws |
178 |
|
Near Perfect Game for Roger Clemens |
How Many Runs in the Long Run |
181 |
|
Bucks County and Environs |
A Note on Maps and Graphic Games |
184 |
|
Ask About Your Mother-in-Law's Lladro |
Explanations, Advice, and Physics |
186 |
|
Garden Club Gala |
Incidence Matrices on the Society Pages |
189 |
|
Ten Reasons We Hate Our Bosses |
Lists and Linearity |
191 |
|
Stallone on Worst-Dressed List |
Traits and Rates |
193 |
|
New Biography Fills Much-Needed Gap |
Books and News |
195 |
|
Which Way Mecca? |
Religion in the Paper |
197 |
|
R. L. Vickler, 85, Aide to Truman |
The Length of Obituaries |
199 |
|
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Conclusion |
201 |
Bibliography |
205 |
Index |
207 |