Applied Math
The Nightmare of Algorithm Interviews
A recent widespread custom in the high technology industry is the “coding interview” where applicants typically stand in front of a white board for three or more hours…
John F. McGowan, Ph.D.
John F. McGowan, Ph.D. solves problems using mathematics and mathematical software, including developing gesture recognition for touch devices, video compression and speech recognition technologies. He has extensive experience developing software in C, C++, MATLAB, Python, Visual Basic and many other programming languages. He has been a Visiting Scholar at HP Labs developing computer vision algorithms and software for mobile devices. He has worked as a contractor at NASA Ames Research Center involved in the research and development of image and video processing algorithms and technology. He has published articles on the origin and evolution of life, the exploration of Mars (anticipating the discovery of methane on Mars), and cheap access to space. He has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He can be reached at jmcgowan11@earthlink.net.
This article is copyright © of John F. McGowan, Ph.D.
Articles
Applied Math
Book Review: Peak — Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
Peak — Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 216 307 pages My Rating: 4/5 How does one…
Applied Math
Invasion of the Physicists
Wired recently published an article with the sensational title “Move Over, Coders — Physicists Will Soon Rule Silicon Valley” primarily concerned with physicists or former physicists working in…
Applied Math
Should You Get Started in Data Science?
I recently received an inquiry on how to get started in the currently hot field of data science. Perhaps a better question is: should you get started in…
General
Separating the Math and the Mathematician
I recently gave a talk Ronald Fisher and Maximum Likelihood Estimation on the pioneering statistician Ronald Fisher and his development of the method of maximum likelihood estimation, one…
Applied Math
Arbitrary Precision Integer Arithmetic in the Bourne Again Shell (BASH)
This is a brief post on quick ways to perform arbitrary precision integer arithmetic in the GNU Bourne Again Shell (BASH), either at the command prompt or in…
Applied Math
Did Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm Elect Donald Trump?
Dozens of articles are trying to blame the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on Facebook’s news feed algorithm, and especially its supposed propensity…
Applied Math
Pre-Election Polls That Were Wrong
Following up on my last post Big Data Flubs Donald Versus Hillary, here are some famous cases where pre-election polls were wrong. The Literary Digest Predicts Landon Will…
Applied Math
Big Data Flubs Donald Versus Hillary
Donald Trump’s unexpected upset victory over Hillary Clinton raises troubling questions about the use of mathematical models and “Big Data” in politics. With the possible exception of the…
Applied Math
Algebra, Asimov, and Missing Steps
When I was young, I could not get algebra. In particular, I would encounter magical operations like this: [latex]x + 5 = 8[/latex] followed by: [latex] x =…
Applied Math
Book Review: Weapons of Math Destruction
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy Cathy O’Neil Crown New York 2016 Book Web Site: https://weaponsofmathdestructionbook.com The Author’s Blog: https://mathbabe.org My Rating:…
General
Data Science Boot Camps II
NOTE: I will be posting to and administering the Math Blog while Antonio and his family recover from the fire at his home. Inc. recently ran an article:…