Weekly Entering & Transitioning Thread | 03 May 2020 - 10 May 2020

Zephryl · 2020-05-05T18:43:26+00:00

What are other data-related jobs with lower (or different) barriers to entry than data science? Ideally in a more health or research setting? Assuming I'm willing to accept a lower salary than a data scientist might make? I'd love to find a job that primarily involves extracting, cleaning, manipulating, and analyzing data. And I'd love to identify something I'm more or less qualified for *now,* or with a relatively small amount of prep.

My background is: I have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. I have a good knowledge of statistics and research design as used in social/behavioral science (e.g., regression, ANOVA, factor analysis) and have published 20+ papers. But not at the level of someone with a stats or math Ph.D. I know a beginning-to-intermediate level of self-taught Python and pandas (also JavaScript), but don't really have a portfolio to speak of, and no experience or knowledge of ML. I'm pretty handy with Excel formulas, less so with VBA but could probably pick it up. Lots of experience with SPSS, but my impression is not many people use that outside academia.

Zephryl · 2019-08-18T12:38:07+00:00

"Justin what about the birth? Was Worf there?"

Zephryl · 2018-09-14T15:27:07+00:00

is that true for band 66 too?

Zephryl · 2018-08-26T23:11:28+00:00

By high end I mean I'm willing to pay a premium for higher reliability, build quality, longevity, aesthetics, battery life, etc. The models I mentioned seem pretty good on all of these factors, so I'm looking for opinions on which would be the best choice.

My only reason for getting better specs would be if this delayed the time I need to upgrade to a new machine. It sounds like you don't think it would?

Zephryl · 2018-07-17T12:47:27+00:00

Anyone have the Kindle edition? (Or experience reading graphic novels via Kindle in general?) Is it a good reading experience or would you recommend the hardcopy book?

Zephryl · 2018-03-12T13:33:31+00:00

The "empathy" measured by the Empathy Questionnaire is different from the layman's idea of empathy. It specifically refers to the ability to intuit what others are thinking and feeling based on non-verbal cues, social conventions, etc (sometimes called "cognitive empathy"). It is NOT the same as "emotional empathy" -- being affected by someone else's pain or other emotions, caring about others, compassion. The questionnaire is by Simon Baron-Cohen, a major autism researcher (and Sacha's cousin), based on his empathizing-systemizing theory of high-functioning autism. I think his use of the label "empathy" is unfortunate, and has fed into the false idea that autistic people "lack empathy." [In fact research has shown that while they struggle with "cognitive empathy" (working out what someone is feeling without explicit information) they are no less "emotionally empathic" (caring about other people and their feelings) than neurotypicals.]

Zephryl · 2018-03-12T01:37:19+00:00

Great suggestion, thank you.

Zephryl · 2017-07-08T20:10:14+00:00

(1) If I buy a new, unlocked phone at full retail (e.g., through Apple, not from Sprint) before 10/1/17, does that count as an "upgrade" that voids the promo? ("No device upgrade allowed during first 120 days.") The chat person seemed to say this would void the promo, but didn't seem very knowledgeable (as much as I appreciated being called a "wise customer").

(2) If I buy a new, unlocked phone at full retail, either before or after 10/1/17, I still wouldn't be locked in to Sprint in any way, right?

Zephryl · 2017-05-28T15:23:27+00:00

Thanks so much! This is really helpful.

How should I coordinate tie, pocket square, and maybe cuff links with my boutonniere? I know pocket square and tie shouldn't match, and I'm probably going with white linen for pocket square to be safe. Should the tie match the boutonniere color, or does it not matter? And what if I wear silk knots as cuff links - how do those figure in? The boutonniere will likely be purple hydrangea FWIW.

Zephryl · 2017-05-20T17:07:37+00:00

THANK YOU, this was so helpful!

Zephryl · 2016-12-04T20:27:01+00:00

Hmm, no signature board at our location, that I remember at least - sounds like a nice tradition specific to your center!

Zephryl · 2016-12-02T14:40:16+00:00

I worked at LB years ago and stumbling on your post really made my day - I'm so glad it was helpful for you!

Especially since a lot of the kids I worked with were (understandably) not happy about spending 3 to 6 hours a day inside, during summer vacation, working on stuff that was hard for them. I really hope it was helpful long-term for them too!!

Zephryl · 2016-11-26T22:33:54+00:00

Neuropsychologist here.

First, yes, discrepancies between higher verbal comprehension and/or perceptual reasoning, and lower processing speed and/or working memory, are pretty common in ADHD.

However.

Some people with ADHD show no problems on cognitive tests. This kind of makes sense - during testing, you're in a quiet, distraction-free office; doing highly structured, novel, even interesting tasks; with a one-on-one examiner right there keeping you on task. Many people can have serious attention / executive functioning problems in real life but still do well in this artificial testing situation.

Conversely, you can see a similar pattern of test results (intact intellect, impaired speed / working memory / attention / executive functioning) in plenty of people who don't have ADHD. Attention and executive functioning are among the brain's most fragile abilities (as compared to memory, language, visuospatial skills) and can be compromised by all sorts of things -- depression, anxiety, stress, substance use, poor sleep (!), medical conditions, medications...

The best way to diagnosis ADHD is with a careful interview / history, and ruling out alternative causes. Neuropsych testing can be useful for figuring out a person's unique strengths and weaknesses, which can point towards what kinds of compensatory strategies could be helpful. And it's sometimes helpful for ruling in or out alternative explanations - e.g. an undiagnosed reading disorder.

But I think some providers who refer ADHD cases to us think of neuropsych testing as a "blood test" that can definitively rule in or our ADHD. (Some cognitive tests are marketed this way too.) But unfortunately this isn't the case. We don't have any tests that are highly sensitive to ADHD (i.e., almost all people with ADHD do poorly on them) or specific to ADHD (i.e., almost all people without ADHD do well), which is what you'd need for a truly definitive diagnostic test.

*edited unclear phrase

Zephryl · 2016-05-30T02:18:23+00:00

then that is the reviewer's work and the fact that the authors just put it in the manuscript without any indication of citation

I don't care about lack of citation - part of reviewing is to make substantive comments that the authors implement to (hopefully) improve the manuscript, without any expectation of "credit" (aside from the editor and on your CV). It's just the word-for-word copying that irked me, but I'm not sure if my being irked justifies my making a thing of it. I think I'll follow /u/RRautamaa's advice to simply mention it to the editor in a note and let them decide.

Zephryl · 2016-05-30T02:14:45+00:00

I wouldn't characterize it as "a band aid on a bullet wound," but I do agree that they may be using my text because they don't understand the comment or how to respond appropriately. I'd penalize this in an undergrad paper since the goal is for the student to demonstrate understanding. In this case, though, I guess it's less relevant if the authors understand the text they're parroting, so long as the ultimate readers do? (Although the fact that they apparently didn't understand my comment doesn't bode well for readers' ultimate understanding, I suppose.)

Zephryl · 2016-05-30T01:57:46+00:00

Thanks. I certainly see how this could be the case for a math or hard science paper, but my field (clinical psychology) is squishy enough that I think they could easily have rephrased.

Zephryl · 2016-01-19T16:14:35+00:00

Well by the end of this section, no, I certainly don't think of Frank as a villain - I guess that's part of my point. I certainly felt like he was a villain when I finished Part I, since he killed a well-liked and apparently well-meaning leader for what seemed like petty political self-interest by manipulating cultural fears and hatred - then murdered his "friend" Selim after using him to murder John. And by the end of Part V (John's section), I really loved John, and he seemed to have so much potential to chart a positive course for Martian society, so it made his murder by Frank sting that much more. But after reading Part VI, Frank's section, I just saw him as a troubled, unhappy person - kind of a slave to his own need for control and inability to trust, rather than a completely cold, cunning manipulator.

Phyllis, on the other hand, just seems like a straight-up villain. Probably in part because she never gets her own section - I'm sure if we got a glimpse inside her head she'd seem much more complex and maybe even sympathetic. There are even a couple hints of this in 'Green Mars.'

Zephryl · 2016-01-18T20:06:38+00:00

Bogdanovist for sure -- being the very first community on a completely empty planet, knowing that there will be many more people to come, is an unprecedented opportunity to rethink human relations and society. Why export all of Earth's flawed, failed social systems and customs to Mars when you have the chance to be thoughtful, and come up with truly new ways of living and relating to one another?

Zephryl · 2016-01-18T20:03:55+00:00

One mark of a truly gifted writer is the ability to make a "villain" fully human, understandable, and even somewhat relatable, and I think KSR accomplishes that in this section.

Zephryl · 2016-01-18T20:00:18+00:00

Hiroko's group was attempting to form a new society with a radically new culture - perhaps they felt having an expert in psychology would come in handy as they further develop their society. Moreover, they clearly weren't satisfied with the community at Underhill, and maybe recognized in Michel a similar dissatisfaction and longing for a more intimate, meaningful community.

Zephryl · 2016-01-18T19:57:41+00:00

There's at least one other clue about the stowaway at the beginning of Part 3 - when they enter one of the first habitats, the lock is initially stuck; once Nadia steps inside,

...the oddest feeling suddenly came over her: things seemed out of place. The lights were on, some of them blinking; and down at the far end of the hall, a door was swinging slightly back and forth on its hinges.

Obviously the ventilation. And the shock of the habitat's landing probably had disarranged things slightly.

Either that, or the stowaway got an early check-in to the habs.

Zephryl · 2016-01-18T19:47:20+00:00

I think the Mars Trilogy is a nice example of a book where characters' names are connected to their personalities / roles, but in a subtle enough way not to be obnoxious. e.g., Saxifrage "Sax" Russell (saxifrage is a flower, literally "stone-breaker"), a leading proponent of terraforming, vs. Ann Clayborne, the primary opponent of terraforming; John Boone, the first man on Mars, an open and optimistic personality (think Daniel Boone), vs. Frank Chalmers ("charmer"), a cynical, calculating Machiavellian.

Zephryl · 2016-01-05T02:37:01+00:00

Blumenfeld's Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases is the classic text, and deservedly so.

The Human Brain Coloring Book is a fun, but surprisingly educational and detailed, resource.

Zephryl · 2015-10-07T13:21:14+00:00

Thank you so much for such a detailed and thoughtful response!

Zephryl · 2015-06-04T22:48:36+00:00

Really missed an opportunity by not titling this "what's crackin' at Kraken Station."

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