Archive for February 26th, 2013

Momma Mia: Italy is rocking & reeling …

February 26, 2013

It started when old Benedict become the first pope in over 600 years to resign.

Before the College of Cardinals could puff out some white smoke, the Italians flocked to the ballot boxes to do some damage.

Headline in the Washington Post: “Berlusconi revives political career in chaotic Italian election”

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More from the Post …

“Silvio Berlusconi, the three-time Italian prime minister, onetime cruise ship singer, billionaire playboy and perpetual criminal defendant who was all but counted out of Italian political life when a debt crisis forced his resignation in 2011, shocked the country Monday by shooting back into a position of influence. Even by the chaotic standards of Italian politics, the resurgence of Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party has cast the Italian government into confusion.

The story gets even better …

(more…)

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Posted in Italy, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Nums: A world of battling algorithms

February 26, 2013

I’ve been getting back into behavioral economics and predictive analytics.

Led me back to a cool 15 minute TED Talk.

Tech entrepreneur Kevin Slavin tells how algorithms have reached across industries and into every day life.

A couple of lines caught my attention:

  • There are more than 2,000 physicists working on Wall Street developing operational algorithms
  • Massive scale speed trading is dependent on millisecond read & respond rates …
  • So, firms are physically literally locating right next to internet routing hubs to cut transmission times
  • And, of course, there isn’t time for human intervention and control
  • “We may be building whole worlds we don’t really understand, and can’t control.”

Worth listening to this pitch … a very engaging geek who may be onto something big.

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Posted in Algorithms - algoritmic applications, Analytical methods, procedures & protocols, Analytics, Predictive Analytics | Leave a Comment »