Whaddaya Mean "Poisson Examinations of My Mind"?

To quote the great 'kipedia:

In probability theory and statistics, the Poisson distribution is a discrete probability distribution that expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate and independently of the time since the last event.

 A Poisson process involves things that occur at random intervals that are independent of each other. For example, catching fish by pole: when you want to know how it should take before your next fish most things don't matter--like how long your pole has been in the water, how long it has been since your last catch and how many fish you have already caught. Fish just come when they come.
Notice that:

• Fishing is a perfect example of a Poisson process
• "Poisson" is the French word for fish
• Many great mathematicians were French

You might think that the process was named for fishing. You'd be wrong. There was actually a guy named "Poisson" that came up with it. Don't believe me? Look it up. (Look up Mr. Heaviside and the "Heaviside" function for another great irony.)

Which brings me to the name of my Blog: I expect to update this at random, with the time since the last update being no indicator of when I'll update next. I'll just have to wait for fishy ideas to bite.

Response to "New Look at Atlas Shrugged"

A response to Sarah Szabo's article in "The Collegian" (U of Tulsa's Newspaper): A new look at old books: "Atlas Shrugged".

First of all, in the edition mentioned (1060 pages), Galt's speech spans about 50 pages, not 100. But either way, it says little that isn't clear before that point.

The core of the philosophy is basing conscious reality on objective observation. Rand's fundamental conclusion is that the most basic right is to be left alone--people interact when it is mutually beneficial, but either should be able to terminate the relationship at any time (unless there's a contract). I hope you'll agree, she does pretty well at defending this.

However, Rand spends so much time playing defense against those that would rob her to give to the poor that most people believe her philosophy consisted of keeping ones possessions in a hole and kicking puppies. She actually believed it was fine to give things away, but not if charity was demanded by law. This distinction is left unclear in "Atlas Shrugged."