I-Clicker Monty Hall Problem

I was sitting in my ECON 102 lecture today when the professor posed a challenging I-Clicker question to the class. After a minute and a half he glanced at the computer monitor and announced that one of the most popular answers 'A' was incorrect. After the newly displaced answers found a new choice, he again declared that choice 'C' was incorrect, and announced that we now had a 50-50 chance of getting the right answer. I knew the professor's last remark was incorrect because I am a nerd (to be expounded upon in the appendix). I correctly identified the situation as a Monty Hall Problem, as it fit almost perfectly. The host is my professor, and the class as a whole is the contestant. I quickly crunched the numbers and found that after my professor revealed two answers were wrong, I would have a 75% chance of getting it correct if I switched to 'D'. According to the graph displayed after the question, 77% of the class answered D. I am aware that the close correlation in no way implies causation, but I found it interesting none the less.




Appendix: 
In the summer going into my junior year of high school, one of the books on the mandatory reading list was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The aforementioned novel tells the story about a severely autistic boy who has an extraordinary talent for math and his struggle to deal with his troubled home life. It is a good book; I recommend you all read it. In one of the chapters, the protagonist is explaining the powers of mathematics and he identifies a mathematician, Marilyn vos Savant, who was able to make a surprising conclusion from her solution to the Monty Hall Problem. The part about me being a nerd stems from the fact that the problem itself and its solution was included in an appendix to the novel which I, of course, read. Now, the only reason I remember the book is because of an inconsequential reference to an obscure math problem. As I previously stated, I am a nerd.

Ode to the Transportation Warrior

O mystery man sporting wilderness gear

Your latest great journey has lead you here

To the 10 East Gold, heading to class

You see open spots but you decide to pass

Your backpacking boots surely don't feign

Your preparedness for the streets of Champaign

Your keys have absolutely no chance to slip

From the climbing rated carribeaner attached to your hip

As a trail tested hiker, you throw caution to the side

Neglecting to sit down or hold handles as you ride

Your concentration is unwavering, you don't dare to smile

Your power stance is taking up the whole middle aisle

We roll past Green, you've almost made it

The 10 minute bus ride, standing unaided

With a smug sense of satisfaction you glance around

Only to to find yourself lying on the ground

If you happen to be reading this well crafted ode

Next time you're on the bus, make sure to take note

The handles on the bus are for you to hold

Unless you like the floor of the 10 East Gold

Jim vs Beer Pong

Pong. Originally a frathouse novelty, it has spiralled into a global phenomenon sparking millions of YouTube Videos, and even an international tournament with a cash prize. However, if ya'll ever plan on attending a festive gathering, avoid the BP table like the plague. Here's why...

I'll start with the name. Anyone with more than 3 synapses connected can deduce the moniker 'beer pong' was conceived in such a manner.

(Basement of a frat house. Seeking amusement that involves light consumption of alcohol and competition, two bros sail into uncharted waters)
Bored College Kid 1: Bro, I'm bored and I want to drink.
Bored College Kid 2: Ditto, my man. Lets go beer bowling on this ping-pong table.
BCK1: Chyeah... Wait, we'd waste beer on the floor.
BCK2: You're totally right, lets toss these balls in the cups instead.
BCK1: Its like ping pong with Beer.
BCK2: Yeah, its like Beer Pong
Both: Sick

The name stuck despite bearing no resemblance to ping pong except for the ball. Its like calling kickball, base-soccer. (As an aside to further the baseball - bp analogy; both games are largely spent standing around and chasing out-of-play-balls).

In addition to having an absolutely terrible name, BP is a monumental waste of resources. The large tables become obstacles for guests to navigate creating unwanted congestion. The snail pace of the game and the paltry amount of participants leads to the formation of large lines of prospective players. Time and space are not the only resources inefficiently allocated. Due to the messy nature of the game, many fluid ounces of beverage are lost the the ground and table.

Lastly, pong is the biggest cop out at any gathering. It is what party goers default to when they have exhausted all other options. I can only speak for myself, but when I hit the town, I hope to meet people and spark interesting conversation. Playing pong makes these objectives untenable. The competitive nature of the game almost automatically rules out fraternizing with the other side of the table. This iron curtain prevents any communication and a hint of animosity, both or which are huge dampers on any potential good time. Think back to the best time you had going out. I doubt any part of that night involved tossing ping pong balls into red cups. Now thing of the worst night in memory. Yup, bp was definitely there.

Unfortunately, I fear too many people have eaten the beer pong lotus, and the scourge will continue to live on. But now you can use your best judgement to run like hell when you see the cups being lined up.

Homecoming

Here at the beautiful University of Illinois, the fall air is crisp with homecoming spirit. While this may be a common tradition among large, state universities, UofI's is especially well celebrated because we allegedly started the tradition. While the premise of bringing alumni back to their old stomping grounds for one day to relive the glory days seems like a great idea, I find it rather depressing.

The concept upon which homecoming is based implies these, my collegiate years, are defined to be the best years of my life. While in many circumstances this may be true and  I do enjoy my activities (both academic and extracurricular) and the people here in the 217, I sincerely hope my personal halcyon is not spent here in the corn fields of central Illinois.

Being a recreational runner, I am no stranger to jeers while jogging, but today the tailgaters who 'came home' were especially quick to notice that I was indeed exercising. I would have no problem with said taunts if they came from notable alumni such as Steve Chen, Fazlur Kahn or Nick Holonyak, but instead these poorly constructed insults came from orange-clad men with substantial beer guts. The homecoming variety is the type that whose life peaked at age 20 and since has gone downhill. In a quixotic endeavor to recapture the lost days of yore, they pilgrim once a year to the place where for four years they were the coolest guy at KAMS.

While I have no clue what the future will bring, I don't foresee an annual trip to Champaign after my graduation due to the fact I will have something actually important to do.

The Five Guys You Meet In College

Hello loyal readers,

After a 8-month hiatus, I have decided to begin blogging again in order to preserve the wonderful occurrences that may fail to live on in the litany of my stories. While nothing of consequence has occurred in a while, fear not for I will always have material upon which to rant. 

In my never-ending attempt to make sense of the world around me, I have developed a taxonomy for grouping the college age males I meet on a daily basis. I call it The Five Guys You Meet In College

First Type: The Man
When you hear the term "the man" your mind may instantly equate it to 'the guy who keeps you down' or 'the guy I stick it too', however in this case the term is used completely opposite. My interpretation of the man is the guy who you and everybody else likes spending time with.

Second Type: The Great Guy
While not quite as affable as "The Man', the 'Great Guy' is yet another type which you like hanging with. Of the five types, The Great Guy probably makes up the largest percentage of the population. Most people I run into, I would categorize ads good guys, but as soon as you get to know them, they'll probably fall into the great guy category.

Third Type: The Lovable Loser
The lovable loser is that quirky guy you can't help but like. That guy in your physics discussion who makes an offbeat joke that you find yourself laughing hysterically to. The lovable loser has a bizarre personality and enjoys making astute observations from a totally different point of view.

Fourth Type: The Boner
The boner is the guy who thinks he's the man, but in reality falls far short of his own self image. The boner can is very arrogant and expects others to worship him the the way he worships himself. The boner lives in a mentally constructed world in which he is infallible and will get very upset when you correct his egocentric worldview. The boner is very polarizing. If you are good friends with the boner, you think he is a great guy or even the man. If not, he is relegated to Urchin status.

Fifth Type: The Urchin
The Urchin is the most deplorable form of existence on the college campus. The Urchin is that guy who alternates between the Dropbox shirt, the E-Week shirt and the freshman fest shirt, The Urchin is that guy who lectures you on the dangers of Polar Bear gingivitis. The urchin is the guy who brags to you about playing a drunk round of starcraft on a Friday night.

These types are not absolute and people usually switch between them depending on the situation. However I would say that 90% of the population definitively fits into one of these five types.