The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 7 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Strogatz: Weeding out STEM students ignores their true potential
“You know, you hear this idea of weeding out the people who have the right stuff from those that don't. I really don't accept that idea. People have a lot of potential, more than That kind of superficial analysis would lead you to think.”
Strogatz: Strict tit-for-tat strategies trap players in endless vendettas after mistakes
“Here's the weakness of tit-for-tat. Sometimes people make mistakes. And not because they're mean, or, I mean, just, Mistakes happen. Sometimes you are trying to be nice, and a person interprets it as an insult. Now, if that person is following a tit-for-tat mo…”
Strogatz: Bright math freshmen achieve astonishing results under mercilessly unreasonable challenges
“You can really, you know, by the time they're seasoned, if they've been in college a few years, they start to know the game, but freshmen don't really know what college is going to be like, and so you can do mercilessly unreasonable things to the bright freshm…”
Strogatz: Math is an interconnected web rather than a linear tower
“The reality is that math is a web, not a tower. That you can jump in at different points in the network of ideas, And then find your way around from there.”
Strogatz: Parents should admit mathematical ignorance rather than passing on anxieties
“We have to try not to pass on our own anxieties to our kids. What I try to do and what I would recommend other people do is to not be afraid to admit that you don't know something. That's a big, strong reaction to say, I don't know. Let's figure it out.”
Strogatz: Social sciences are harder than physics because subjects react to measurement
“The laws governing inanimate bodies are just a lot simpler and more easily quantified than the laws governing populations or individual people. So, the task of the social sciences is extremely hard. They get to feed back on the system that's measuring them. It…”
Strogatz: Researchers often succeed more by targeting second-hardest problems
“Sometimes it's better to go, as you say, after the second hardest problem. So maybe the gold ring, you know, is premature. We have to build up to it. So there are people who try for the hardest thing, and they never succeed. Because they're going for pie in th…”