Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link)

Curious consulting on strategy *and* evidence. I do difficult equations - but avoid if working with humans. Training on VfM,etc.

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

NEW VfM TRAINING DATES
Core course: 17 Jan 2024 Intro to VfM
Modules: 30 Jan 2024 VfM within evaluations
7 Feb 2024 VfM in complex and adaptive environments
20 Feb 2024 CBA and benefit: cost ratios for VfM
BOOKING NOW at https://t.co/2aIdBQXoBz
blog link: https://t.co/E2U6YKL1sK

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@tonywilsonIES @NeilCouling @phillowthian Exactly as I thought; Neil's hair is longer but you haven't aged at all

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@tonywilsonIES @NeilCouling @phillowthian Looking forward to hearing the rest of this back to the future tale! Good luck, Tony.

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

I'm in it but sold out!!! (there is waiting list though. BUT... there is loads of other stuff to go and see

[Festival of Debate 2026 @FestOfDebate]

🥳 Festival of Debate is back! Our 2024 programme runs from April 16 - 25 May, with 60+ online and in-person events focused on inspiring change in #Sheffield and beyond.

Register now to attend any of our events: https://t.co/UC0sEv4Jes

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

Mind blown

[🦧Scowlin Munkeh @scowlingmonkey]

@HarriermanPhil @anon_opin Sadly not. A quick Google says 12.5 million cars in the U.K. was in 1972, so:

1972 UK population: 56 million
Now: 67 million
Percentage increase: 19.64%

UK Cars 1972: 12.5 million
Now: 33 million
Percentage increase: 164%

Cars numbers have vastly outstripped population growth.

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@AnnSkelly3 @mikebirdy Problem is that if one train is (inevitably?) late then your following separate tickets (if advance) can become invalid; you have to carry that risk. (Unless of course you are on the same train and only your tickets are split...)

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

Hoping to find the time to get excited about this new thing from @QuadraticHQ It's like excel but lets you code in python in the sheet and outputs results cleanly into the sheet. Also lets you do cool python charts from your sheet data. Amazing for engineers and stattos!

[FDA union @FDA_union]

Ministers must ensure civil servants aren’t conflicted between Civil Service Code obligations & ministerial instructions, yet this is where the Rwanda Bill puts civil servants.
@FDAGenSec writes to the Home Secretary & Minister for the Cabinet Office stating this must be resolved

[Possible @_wearepossible]

🧊Fuel duty has been frozen for 14 years in a row.

📈Three days ago, rail fares went up by nearly 5%

🚗Private cars get a free ride, while the price of public transport goes up and up.

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

Find my event of "What's better than Value for Money" and loads of other interesting things to book early in the pdf online and in physical programmes somewhere near you in #Sheffieldissuper

[Festival of Debate 2026 @FestOfDebate]

🎉 PROGRAMME LAUNCH - Festival of Debate returns to #Sheffield from 16 April - 25 May!

Featuring @Sathnam Sanghera, @holliepoetry, @mrjamesob, @graceblakeley, @mariannaspring, @JackieKayPoet, @GeorgeMonbiot, @natalieben & more.

See the full programme at https://t.co/lNWjYps05g

[Shane Ross @RossDynamicsLab]

Free course on 'Nonlinear dynamics and chaos' for those new to the subject, in short topical videos based on book of @StevenStrogatz

► Video list https://t.co/CQTNNAe6b4

@DynamicsSIAM #physics #engineering #biology #math

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

not better. And the problem still exists: people are idiots and think the answer from a mathematical model is _the_ answer, not just the answer that comes out of the mathematical model!

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

Similarly, medical diagnosis from scans is good because, in time, the algorithm is told if the person did or didn't have the condition that the algorithm was checking for. In my line of work, most of the things people ask to "do AI" for are like more this story...

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

more like very general "AI". They are not really AI they are complicated human written algorithms based on big data. This technology has always been available and only as good as it is .. the only difference now is that the data and the computing power are much bigger...

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

AI doesn't exist much. There are algorithms written by humans that, should, get better as it learns what is right and wrong. Hence, Amazon recommendations get better because "right and wrong" are defined well by if someone buys... https://t.co/KPpKr11k0V

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

And many other voters, often...

[. @jdpoc]

British Tory voters, 2024.

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@InternetH0F You'd be better off inheriting a trust fund, for sure

[The University of Sheffield @sheffielduni]

Sheffield is the real ale capital of the world according to a new report! Here’s what you need to know in four graphics. #TopoftheHops

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@SeanMagee @katyenka @BenAndo When you say "makes us all richer" you mean "increases the mean average" which can happily exist alongside making loads and loads of people poorer. This is the exact issue under debate; GDP, and GDP per capita, can rise but that doesn't mean it benefits you or me.

[Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj]

We know carbon tax alone won’t work.

These approaches will👇

[Stuart Astill (VfM training new dates : see link) @StuartAstill]

@richardprice101 @nickmacpherson2 @GES_UK @jillongovt @jdportes @realVickyPryce @lordstern1 @andyrossecon @edballs @LiamFox True, it's only operational researchers that get that treatment these days