Linear Digressions

Linear Digressions is a podcast about Machine Learning and Data Science

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@BittahWizard Honestly, it just felt like time. Nothing more or less than that.

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

After over 5 amazing years of podcasting, we're hanging up our microphones--it's with bittersweetness that we say that this week's episode will be the last of Linear Digressions. It's been so much fun joining you each week, and we will miss you all. Thanks for listening! 🤓❤️👋

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@PerryMoen1 Stay tuned. Some pals are cooking up an idea for a new podcast and I'll be helping out when launch time comes...

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@SadnessGlutton ok i lol'd at this

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@DanielMKiefer hahaha like your style

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@TomWeinandy Ha yeah that sounds pretty close! But probably not literally me, I was jamming more with a Naive Bayes classifier during most of my time at CERN 🤓

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

Data scientist and PhD student in criminology @ZachDrakeTweets is on the pod this week, unpacking statistical pitfalls, challenges detangling cause and effect, and data-driven criminal justice policy from an expert perspective

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

This week: explaining an algorithm that's used to sentence defendants. It's harsher on black defendants than whites. But the algorithm isn't buggy, it's the patterns it learns from replicating racist policing patterns that are broken. It's the system. #BlackLivesMatter

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

[Katie here] We're doing a rerun this week. I didn't plan to, but events of last week and this weekend make podcasting seem less important than usual. For folks who've asked over the years how they can support the podcast: donate to a bail fund or food pantry. #BlackLivesMatter

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

@ThomasSpeidel Climate models or hurricane models?

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

This week's episode features AI expert Prof. Stuart Russell, in a discussion about the risky path that AI is currently on and what changes we should make now for our long-term safety and happiness. AI is powerful stuff, folks--let's not mess this up.

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

This week's episode: the ups and downs, the ins and outs (mostly ins) of working from home. What are you all doing to stay sane and productive if you're suddenly working from home full time right now?

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

This has big implications for the importance of social distancing of a way to get the pandemic under control and explains why a more comprehensive testing program is critical for the United States 3/3
Here's the paper: https://t.co/lkRSwzHAqZ

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

One thing that’s extremely important to understand, in order to fight covid-19 as effectively as possible, is how the virus spreads and especially how much of the spread of the disease comes from carriers who are experiencing no or mild symptoms but are contagious anyway 1/3

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

This episode digs into the epidemiological model that was published in Science this week—this model finds that the data suggests that the majority of carriers of the coronavirus, 80-90%, do not have a detected disease
https://t.co/adsObDup0p
2/3

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

Stay safe out there, everyone. We'll talk to you again next week.

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

Now seems like a good time to re-release an episode where, among other things, we cover this paper: https://t.co/1obCyqE6Oh

[Linear Digressions @LinDigressions]

What does this mean? STAY HOME RIGHT NOW, as much as you can. Practice good hygiene. It doesn't matter if you think you'll be fine (although even young and healthy people are ending up in ICUs), the network effects of your actions are huge for others.