Nate Silver debunks Peggy Noonan’s anecdotal “evidence”

Four people? It’s a conspiracy!

Nate spoils the fun with math …

New Audit Allegations Show Flawed Statistical Thinking – NYTimes.com.

Content Creation Strategies for the End of the Online Ad Era.

So … news is dead?

Policy wonks take it seriously – punditocracy doesn’t

I’m sure people would have plenty of opinions about this economic idea — instead of a cumbersome safety net of Social Security and so forth, make sure everyone has a minimum income. They call it Universal Basic Income.

What interests me about it? If the story is accurate, then this is an idea that, within policy-wonk circles, can at least serve as a starting point for discussion. It’s an idea taken seriously by economists from divergent schools of thought.

But what happens when you take that idea into the mainstream media and cable punditocracy? “LIBERAL *%$!”

Not sure anyone will make any progress when our media — and society at large — are so hostile to ideas.

May 5 links: Missing word or sarcasm?

I was a little disappointed to learn that the word “million” was missing here: Olympic injury trending on Twitter launched $18 empire

Via Andrew Sullivan, a lively meditation on the power of the phrase “I don’t know.” Isn’t a wise man supposed to know what he doesn’t know?

I don’t always agree with me; I certainly don’t expect everyone else to. Being treated as some sort of authority, not only by TV and radio hosts but by people who write to me for advice, is more alarming than flattering; it makes me wonder whether all the alleged sages I’ve ever admired, from Lao Tsu to Marcus Aurelius, were big fat fakes like me. I suppose it’s possible that all those other columnists and talking heads really do know whereof they speak and I’m the only who doesn’t know enough to fake it. But I have my doubts.

With that in mind, turn to The Economist’s wonderful Big Question: “What’s the Best Philosophy?” I don’t know. Maybe doubt?

How to Be a Political-Opinion Journalist

I was expecting something snarky. What I found was much better. (And it’s a short read.)

Brooks makes the point that the detached writers role should be “more like teaching than activism.” I would say that it should be more like learning than teaching. The stuff you put on the page should be the byproduct of all you are taking in — and that taking in should not end after you get a degree from a selective university. Keep going. You must keep going.

via How to Be a Political-Opinion Journalist – Ta-Nehisi Coates – The Atlantic.

Prescription for news consumption: Once a day is plenty

A recollection of spending too much time following bad info on CNN and Twitter during the Boston Marathon bombing suspect manhunt:

Finally, load up your favorite newspaper’s home page. Spend about 10 minutes reading a couple of in-depth news stories about the events of the day. And that’s it: You’ve now caught up with all your friends who spent the past day and a half going out of their minds following cable and Twitter. In fact, you’re now better informed than they are, because during your self-imposed exile from the news, you didn’t stumble into the many cul-de-sacs and dark alleys of misinformation that consumed their lives. You’re less frazzled, better rested, and your rain gutters are clear.

via Boston bombing breaking news: Don’t watch cable. Shut off Twitter. You’d be better off cleaning your gutters. – Slate Magazine.

Bass parts that can’t be beat

I’m a little late in finding this, but it’s a thoughtful roundup of the best basslines of all time, ranging from Motown to prog.

Of course, you could spend all day thinking of omissions. First one to leap to my mind is a memorable line from a bassist not known as a technical wizard: U2′s New Years Day.

The 25 best basslines of all time | Hysteria – Muse (Chris Wolstenholme) | MusicRadar.com.