The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

Today’s guest is Brian Blais, a professor of Science at Bryant University. His approach to teaching statistical inference includes taking the Bayesian approach instead of delegating it to an advanced or elective topic. We talk about the Bayesian vs Frequentist debate, how to navigate the disconnect between them, and the role of imagination when discovering truth.

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The Local Maximum cover a wide range of topics in this Local Maximum May news update with Max Sklar and cohost Aaron. Max said “this is one of the most fun episodes to do, but all the best stuff is at the end so you better listen through”.

Concept of the week is the separation of test and training set in machine learning. We discuss why it is important, how it separates learning and memorization, and where the grey areas are.

Other Topics include:
- The Bitcoin halving - a once-in-4-years watershed moment for the fledgling currency
- Revealing information from coronavirus antibody tests
- A 5 year old driver in Utah
- The predictive power of Demolition Man and other movies (at the end)

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Today’s Local Maximum features Chistian Hubbs, host of the Artificially Intelligent podcast. We talk about the most recent examples of AI Hype, more on the Coronavirus models, and the nuanced problems of listening to the experts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Cytometrist and author of the new Machine Learning text (ML with R the tidyverse, and mlr) joins the Local Maximum to tell us about some of the biological applications of machine learning and making it more accessible to all.

We cover model evaluation, unsupervised learning, and the curse of dimensionality.

Podlocalmax19 is the promo code to get 40% off all books at manning.com

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Today Max dives into the Coronavirus pandemic models. He talk generally about statistical models of this sort, and how epidemiological models are usually performed. Then, he finds that the models followed by the state and federal governments do nothing of the sort!

Also:
- What actions should individuals and governments take?
- Do lockdowns affect viral spread?
- What's the story with asymptomatic people?

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The Local Maximum takes a break from continuing Coronavirus coverage to talk about larger social trends. Stanford University researchers proposal for a smart toilet goes too far as it scans your from the bottom up for login credentials. Established media throws shade at podcasting as a dangerous medium, even as they are guilty of the same crimes. Max explains the necessity of the long form podcast in our fractured information news economy. Joe Biden starts a podcast - meaning that this could be the start of a new era of communications tools in presidential elections. The New York Magazine review says it’s too much Biden. Welcome to 2020!

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The annualish Local Maximum predictions panel continues virtually even though under quarantine. They make future predictions, but also review past predictions for today’s time. Max gives a Coronavirus update from New York. Here are some questions that we tackle:
- Will Urban or Rural spaces grow in the future?
- Why did some virtual reality predictions fail, and what can turn that platform around?
- Will doctors finally treat patients remotely on a regular basis?
- How long will we be stuck in our homes?

localmaxradio.com/113

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Naomi Brockwell returns to the Local Maximum to share her knowledge of recent events. Naomi was reporting and sounding the alarm of Coronavirus before almost all of the media, but many dismissed her warnings. The discussion also includes:
- Government reaction and mismanagement of the pandemic as well as misinformation
- Ways to stay calm and protect yourself
- The role of Censorship in preventing an informed public
- Proposed laws against internet privacy and encryption (the EARN IT act) that can make us less secure online
- The future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max does a solo show during hist third week of staying at home during the Coronavirus outbreak. He covers:
- The large amounts of stories about the virus coming in from all corners, and how it's difficult to evaluate them
- The current situation in New York City, both everyday life, and policy
- How we're getting set up to do more video chats and calls, some ideas for rigging up a home studio, and the popularity of zoom
- The mathematics behind wagers and risks
- Listener email on Logical Probability

localmaxradio.com/111

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

As Max is holed up at home, he talks to Aaron about the current coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com