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π Kelly Criterion
In probability theory and intertemporal portfolio choice, the Kelly criterion (or Kelly strategy or Kelly bet), also known as the scientific gambling method, is a formula for bet sizing that leads almost surely to higher wealth compared to any other strategy in the long run (i.e. approaching the limit as the number of bets goes to infinity). The Kelly bet size is found by maximizing the expected value of the logarithm of wealth, which is equivalent to maximizing the expected geometric growth rate. The Kelly Criterion is to bet a predetermined fraction of assets, and it can seem counterintuitive. It was described by J. L. Kelly Jr, a researcher at Bell Labs, in 1956.
For an even money bet, the Kelly criterion computes the wager size percentage by multiplying the percent chance to win by two, then subtracting one-hundred percent. So, for a bet with a 70% chance to win the optimal wager size is 40% of available funds.
The practical use of the formula has been demonstrated for gambling and the same idea was used to explain diversification in investment management. In the 2000s, Kelly-style analysis became a part of mainstream investment theory and the claim has been made that well-known successful investors including Warren Buffett and Bill Gross use Kelly methods. William Poundstone wrote an extensive popular account of the history of Kelly betting.
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- "Kelly Criterion" | 2021-04-16 | 330 Upvotes 194 Comments
π Gell-Mann amnesia effect
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 β November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres, and heavily feature technology. His novels often explore technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and scientific background. He wrote, among other works, The Andromeda Strain (1969), The Great Train Robbery (1975), Congo (1980), Sphere (1987), Jurassic Park (1990), Rising Sun (1992), Disclosure (1994), The Lost World (1995), Airframe (1996), Timeline (1999), Prey (2002), State of Fear (2004), and Next (2006). Films he wrote and directed included Westworld (1973), Coma (1978), The Great Train Robbery (1979), Looker (1981), and Runaway (1984).
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- "Gell-Mann amnesia effect" | 2018-09-17 | 361 Upvotes 162 Comments
π Turbo Button
On personal computers, the turbo button is a button which provides two run states for the computer: normal speed or an enhanced "turbo" speed. It was relatively common on personal computers using the Intel 80286, Intel 80386 and Intel 80486 processors, from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s.
The name is inspired by turbocharger, a turbine-driven forced induction device that increases an engine's power and efficiency.
Discussed on
- "Turbo Button" | 2018-07-29 | 195 Upvotes 113 Comments
π Insect Hotel
An insect hotel, also known as a bug hotel or insect house, is a manmade structure created to provide shelter for insects. They can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the specific purpose or specific insect it is catered to. Most consist of several different sections that provide insects with nesting facilities β particularly during winter, offering shelter or refuge for many types of insects. Their purposes include hosting pollinators.
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- "Insect Hotel" | 2022-04-12 | 206 Upvotes 102 Comments
π Waffle House Index
The Waffle House Index is an informal metric named after the Waffle House restaurant chain and is used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine the effect of a storm and the likely scale of assistance required for disaster recovery.
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- "The Waffle House Index" | 2022-09-11 | 52 Upvotes 13 Comments
- "Waffle House Index" | 2020-03-25 | 15 Upvotes 5 Comments
π Christopher Monsanto gives up trying to delete PL articles
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- "Christopher Monsanto gives up trying to delete PL articles" | 2011-02-14 | 173 Upvotes 131 Comments
π Wikipedia admin unmasks self as sockpuppet of other admin banned in 2015
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- "Wikipedia admin unmasks self as sockpuppet of other admin banned in 2015" | 2023-11-06 | 175 Upvotes 127 Comments
π The Magical Number 7 plus or minus 2
"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology. It was published in 1956 in Psychological Review by the cognitive psychologist George A. Miller of Harvard University's Department of Psychology. It is often interpreted to argue that the number of objects an average human can hold in short-term memory is 7 Β± 2. This has occasionally been referred to as Miller's law.
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- "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two" | 2021-07-14 | 48 Upvotes 11 Comments
- "The Magical Number 7 plus or minus 2" | 2010-11-08 | 21 Upvotes 9 Comments
π Indian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist, Ratan Tata, dead at 86
Ratan Tata (28 December 1937 β 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who served as chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1990 to 2012, and then as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. In 2008, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India. Ratan had previously received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour, in 2000. He passed away on October 9, 2024, following a prolonged illness related to his age.
Ratan Tata was the son of Naval Tata, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata. Ratanji Tata was the son of Jamshedji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. He graduated from the Cornell University College of Architecture with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He joined Tata in 1961, where he worked on the shop floor of Tata Steel. He later succeeded J. R. D. Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter's retirement in 1991. During his tenure, the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business. Tata was also a philanthropist.
Tata was a prolific investor and invested in over 30 start-ups, most in a personal capacity and some via his investment company.
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- "Indian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist, Ratan Tata, dead at 86" | 2024-10-10 | 387 Upvotes 136 Comments
π ST3000DM001
The ST3000DM001 is a hard disk drive released by Seagate Technology in 2011 as part of the Seagate Barracuda series. It has a capacity of 3 terabytes (TB) and a spindle speed of 7200Β RPM. This particular drive model was reported to have unusually high failure rates, approximately 5.7 times higher fail rates in comparison to other 3 TB drives.
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- "ST3000DM001" | 2021-06-07 | 270 Upvotes 250 Comments