Dear all,
We have a very special visiting speaker tomorrow at Applied Stats. Cathy O'Neil
earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard, was postdoc at the MIT math department, and a
professor at Barnard College where she published a number of research papers in arithmetic
algebraic geometry. After switching to the private sector, Cathy worked as a quant for the
hedge fund D.E. Shaw in the middle of the credit crisis, and then for RiskMetrics, a risk
software company that assesses risk for the holdings of hedge funds and banks. For the
last couple years she's been a data scientist in the New York start-up scene. She
writes a blog at mathbabe.org<http://mathbabe.org> and is involved with the #Occupy
Wall Street Alternative Banking Working Group.
Check out her recent interview with Russ Roberts on EconTalk here:
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/02/cathy_oneil_on.html
Abstract: In this talk I will discuss the common problems data nerds face when they work
in industry. Those include problems that academic statisticians face, of course, but also
extend to other kinds of communication and political problems. Moreover, considering the
cultural effects of widespread mathematical modeling, the general inaccessibility of
mathematical models from the point of the view of the public, and the general blind trust
the average person has in mathematics, it's potentially a pretty big deal. Let's
try to categorize the risks and start coming up with ways to address them through setting
standards for modeling as well as through educating the public.
As per usual the talk starts at 12 noon in CGIS Knafel
K354<http://map.harvard.edu/?bld=04471&level=9>evel=9>. Lunch will be served.
I look forward to seeing of you tomorrow!
Tess
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Tess Wise
PhD Candidate
Harvard Department of Government
http://tesswise.com