Don’t try to predict the future. Read Taleb’s “the Black Swan”. Instead, try to prepare for an uncertain future by learning generally useful skills that will be helpful in many possible futures. Along these lines, I’ve decided that I’m going to get a double major in statistics and computer science (particularly something related data mining).
Advantages:
Generally useful. Statistics is used in a lot of fields.
Impact- So many studies are poorly designed and so the results are useless.
Comparative advantage to people with a LW mentality- I think that few people will know about Judea Pearl’s “Causality” or Jaynes.
Cool Shit! Google’s driverless car. Machines that write jokes. Siri. the movie “moneyball”
Make DINERO!!! See Moneyball. See wall street algorithms that make most of the trades these days. See the gambling industry.
Understand the world. Intellectual stimulation.
I’m also self-studying psychology. If you can understand statistics, psychology, and philosophy, you will have a very solid understanding of the world around you.
Don’t try to predict the future. Read Taleb’s “the Black Swan”. Instead, try to prepare for an uncertain future by learning generally useful skills that will be helpful in many possible futures. Along these lines, I’ve decided that I’m going to get a double major in statistics and computer science (particularly something related data mining).
Advantages:
Generally useful. Statistics is used in a lot of fields.
Impact- So many studies are poorly designed and so the results are useless.
Comparative advantage to people with a LW mentality- I think that few people will know about Judea Pearl’s “Causality” or Jaynes.
Cool Shit! Google’s driverless car. Machines that write jokes. Siri. the movie “moneyball”
Make DINERO!!! See Moneyball. See wall street algorithms that make most of the trades these days. See the gambling industry.
Understand the world. Intellectual stimulation.
I’m also self-studying psychology. If you can understand statistics, psychology, and philosophy, you will have a very solid understanding of the world around you.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/what-are-the-odds-that-stats-would-get-this-popular/