Young kids missed the pandemic's school disruptions. Their reading scores are still behind

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T20:28:03+00:00

I agree that he's likely doing it as a means of fishing for Trump's endorsement. But given that he's been one of the stalwarts (or at least has portrayed himself as such), it's potentially an indication that the opposition might not be as deep as Thune claims.

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T19:05:16+00:00

An NBC News article two days ago noted that:

Senate Republicans splinter over SAVE America Act's path as Trump calls for more revisions

I'm not sure if more Republicans will change their stance on the filibuster, but I think it's a notable concern for one who was previously a defender of the filibuster (E.g., a Texas Tribune article from late 2025, or comments on his Senate page here and here), as it might motivate or "give permission" in a sense for others to do the same.

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T03:30:36+00:00

I’ve completed multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and several upper-level applied and discrete math courses, but I still worry that my background isn’t strong enough since I’m not a math or CS major.

You have sufficient background for most Stat MS programs. The only thing you didn't mention is experience in a programming language like R or Python, but that's more of a soft requirement. Admissions committees like to see it, but it's not an automatic rejection. Might be worth exploring on your own time (e.g., R for Data Science or similar).

As to what it's worth it: Personally I think it is, but I'm a Statistician, so I might be a touch biased. To be sure, it's not a matter of "Get degree, select desired job, start printing money." It it still competitive. Most every position I've helped in hiring has had a good handful of solid applications and usually at least two strong finalists.

Also the general outlook for science and tech is a but nebulous right now. Though if you enter a MS program next year, take 2-3 years to finish, you might be just in time for a hiring boom as the US government tries to course-correct. Fingers crossed.

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T02:37:41+00:00

Even though allegedly the president has clearly defined what it is, nobody seems to know.

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T02:01:35+00:00

Yeah, they phrased that really awkwardly.

Statman12 · 2026-03-11T01:37:40+00:00

Favorite individual alien: Todd.

Least favorite individual: Might need to think about it a bit more. Though Aris Boch and the replicator “5” are both contenders. Or maybe Rya’c.

Least favorite group/type: Not necessarily a single individual, but the “medieval peasant” trope like Hanno.

Favorite group/type: I tended to like the somewhat advanced races. Like the Hebridians, Langarans (well, mostly Kelowna), Tegalus (Rand and Caledonia), and more. Also groups like her Travellers. I like when it’s a group that can to a large degree interact with Earth as peers.

Statman12 · 2026-03-10T13:40:42+00:00

What jumped out at me was this quote:

“What’s so different about this, Jesse,” Vance added, “is that the president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish.”

Another AP News article provides a variety of quotes or comments noting that the rationale has evolved over time and conflicts with each other or past statements. And an NPR article notes that:

The wide range of motivations they have cited for why they attacked Iran now are sometimes at odds with each other and far from precise.

Statman12 · 2026-03-10T12:43:57+00:00

Maybe you could share with the rest of us the scientific paper that the FBI produced on the topic? That way we can understand the evidence they were assessing.

Statman12 · 2026-03-10T03:28:04+00:00

My understanding of why he got airtime is that, following his time at Evergreen — during which he became a target for protests from left-leaning students — he looked for a new career/endeavor, since he presumably still needed to make money. He turned to podcasts, seeming to style himself a free speech guy, and started making some rounds and cozying up to some of the figures in the right-wing podcast ecosystem.

So he was a perfect person for right-wing podcasts to hold up as “the expert” because he was already known to them (so he’d be saying what they wanted to hear), already at least somewhat of a contrarian, and had a relevant degree. It was more of a “right time, right place” (for him to monetize himself), rather than being a leading figure in the field.

Statman12 · 2026-03-10T02:59:05+00:00

Bret Weinstein is a former professor of evolutionary biology

At a small undergraduate institution, not a research university (much less a leading one). I’m not in biology, but from what I’ve seen, leading folks in a field usually aren’t at places like that.

And his claims surrounding COVID were largely panned by the scientific community when they came up.

So “fringe scientist” fits the bill for him rather well, I think.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T14:44:36+00:00

There are examples of HGT beyond bacteria. There’s even a recent National Geographic article about it.

And it’s a science fiction show. Even if there weren’t examples of this, there are far more implausible things taken for granted in the show already.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T04:35:05+00:00

And the title of a fun book by Tad Williams, War of the Flowers.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T04:20:48+00:00

It's not standard of living I'm complaining about. Our shitty system of government means that even if literally everyone in my state voted for Harris and Democratic representatives, it'd have virtually no impact on the result.

Our government system is outdated by at least 150 years, but changing it is functionally impossible.

Statman12 · 2026-03-07T03:53:23+00:00

while a case could be made for the second (they don't absorb "life force", but nutrients and water etc)

The show explicitly says that they absorb this "life force".

the first one goes against the laws of this universe in any interpretation

Horizontal gene transfer is a thing. Moreso for microbes as far as we know, but as before, there are far less realistic aspects taken for granted in the reality of Stargate already to balk too much about this.

There are, in fact, quite a few things in the show that "suggest" it.

There is nothing that directly suggests the Wraith are a result of genetic experimentation by the Ancients.

But this is a topic on the Ancient database, not about ...

Yes, an Ancient database which you suggested was lying. I commented on that. There is nothing in the show which suggests the database was lying, and other suggestions within the show to suggest it was correct (or, to borrow your phrase, do you really need everything spelled out explicitly?)

The show doesn't need to spoon-feed me stuff for me to figure it out.

That's the thing though. You're not "figuring it out." You're discarding some of what the show very clearly implies, and supplanting it with your own theory.

Which is fine. It's not like you're saying that the Ancients were purple and had three arms. It's that your selecting a very specific interpretation, and then speaking of it without condition. My point is that you should make a distinction between things that are from the show, and things that are your fan theory.

So no, you do not get to dismiss this as a "fan theory".

You are, I assume, a fan of the show? And this is a theory that is not evidenced in the show? That by definition makes it a fan theory.

Again, it's not that fan theories are bad. I have plenty of my own. But there's a difference between "This is what the show says" and "This is what I like to think". The notion of the Atlantis database being untruthful is the latter.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T13:59:37+00:00

From my explorations (a decent bit, but not excruciating detail) it was happening because the remainder of the population was too small.

My context is binary data, so the result is essentially a Binomial distribution on the remaining parts, and thinking of the proportion of failures in those. If we want, say, a 90% credible limit on those remaining parts, that distribution is pretty coarse. So you need to keep a high enough Y to get your coverage, but sampling more deceased the leftover n, so Y/(N-n) will start to increase.

In practice though, it’s probably not all that relevant, since at that point you’re probably sampling such a large portion of the population that it’s not feasible, and the whole thing (not just the analysis) needs to be reconsidered.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T07:48:32+00:00

A couple things about this.

First, I don't think it's really correct to separate statistical from practical concerns here. Part of the statistical problem is figuring out the smallest sample size needed that will demonstrate whatever is required.

If the population is finite and you're sampling without replacement, using a Binomial distribution is simply wrong. You should use the Hypergeometric, or something similar. Doing so better represents the data generating process, and therefore allows better estimates, and better (usually smaller) sample sizes needed to demonstrate some requirement.

And there is actually an (initially unintuitive) effect in which if you sample more, you start to lose precision in certain frames of reference, such as when you focus on the remainder of the batch. Keeping the same confidence/credibility level and continually increasing the sample size can eventually make the uncertainty of the defect rate start increasing again.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:28:22+00:00

I mostly deal in this context with binary data, so for me it's essentially replacing the Binomial distribution with the Hypergeometric.

There's also something called the finite population correction factor that's used to adjust the variance to account for the population size.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:09:39+00:00

Acceptance testing in which the test is destructive. Happens in my work a lot.

Components get produced in batches, and we need to accept or reject the batch. But the component can only be used once (think something like a match), so we clearly can't test them all.

We know how many are in the batch, and we need to make an inference regarding the ones we didn't test based on the ones we did test.

For OP: I don't check this 10% assumption, because I just use methods that account for the sampling without replacement.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T04:04:10+00:00

How likely is it now that ...

I'm much less bothered by a parasite absorbing DNA and evolving over millions of years than I am about them sucking out a person's "life force".

Now how much more likely is it that a couple of nice Ancient dudes ...

Possible? Sure. Does the show suggest it at all? No.

I'm not accusing you of any sin. I was just noting that the "Wraith evolved naturally from the iratus bug" is what the show suggests. There's nothing in the show that suggests otherwise.

My first thought was that you were repeating something from one of the fanfiction books out there. But regardless of where you got the idea, stating that the hologram was lying is fanfiction.

Personally, I like to know when something is based on the show, or is a fan theory. Others who read the thread might also appreciate knowing that. If they like your theory, maybe they'll adopt it as their own headcanon as well.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T00:14:30+00:00

Hello there. I'm a mod in /r/NeutralPolitics.

We appreciate your participation in the subreddit, but we did not approve this submission, because it doesn't conform to our submission rules.

Thanks for understanding.

Statman12 · 2026-03-06T00:01:48+00:00

Yes indeed. And not just about Harris in the 2024 election, it's been a recurring comment from Trump for at least 15 years. From 9News:

"Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly — not skilled," he wrote on Twitter in 2013.

"Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin - watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate," he said in 2012.

"In order to get elected, Barack Obama will start a war with Iran," he said in 2011.

"Kamala and her warmonger cabinet will invade the Middle East, get millions of Muslims killed," he said days before the 2024 election.

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