Newmark's Door

Will the greatest problem in mathematics ever be resolved?

Arnold Kling discusses his "libertarian persuasion." Very reasonable, except for the legalization of drugs.

New marketing technique for firms: counter-googling.

Bulletin from "New York hipsters": Electroclash Movement.

Washington Post writer says Windows XP Home is "insecure by design." Further says, "In its default setup, Windows XP on the Internet amounts to a car parked in a bad part of town, with the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition and a Post-It note on the dashboard saying, 'Please don't steal this.'" (Link via Emerging Technolgies.)

During the 2001-02 academic year, MIT paid Richard Schmalensee $395,167.

Bigwig at Silfay Hraka has two interesting posts on global warming: here and here. Mars, Pluto, and Triton are also apparently warming. How the heck did they get gas guzzlers out to Pluto?

William Ouchi, distinguished professor at my alma mater, UCLA, has figured out how to improve K-12 education. He concludes: ". . . the schools that consistently performed best also had the most decentralized management systems, in which autonomous principals -- not administrators in a central office -- controlled school budgets and personnel hiring policies. They were fully responsible and fully accountable for the performance of their schools. With greater freedom and flexibility to shape their educational programs, hire specialists as needed, and generally determine the direction of their school, the best principals will act as entrepreneurs . . ."

What a surprise.

You can't make up stuff like this. St. Cloud State University is awarding money to the one of its colleges that sends the most faculty to non-mandatory diversity training sessions. According to SCSU Scholars, the early odds favor the College of Education to claim the award. The College of Social Sciences would be co-favorite except the "economics department is here." (!) (Link via Cold Spring Shops.)

Get the jinx machine warmed up. Sports Illustrated's pre-season college football issue picks the Wolfpack #8, winner of the Orange Bowl, and also picks Philip Rivers as the favorite for the Heisman.