Why did Yahoo take so long to disclose its massive security breach?
Need you announce you've been hacked? The clock is ticking.Woman with clock and megaphone via shutterstock.comIn late September, Yahoo announced that at least 500 million user accounts had been compromised. The data stolen included users’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of bir...
Read moreThe curious origin of the double-conk theory for curing amnesia
Image of head bandage engraving via www.shutterstock.com.You’re probably familiar with the TV or movie plot device where a character is conked on the head, loses memory or identity and then gets conked again and memory is restored. Classic examples are in the 1951 Tom and Jerry Cartoon Nit-Wit...
Read moreDéjà vu: Positive train control could have prevented Hoboken accident as officials run out of track on excuses
On the morning of Sept. 29, a packed New Jersey Transit commuter train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal where other commuters were waiting at the platform at the busy transit hub. Initial reports indicate that at least one person has been killed and over 100 injured.Sadly, but also tellingly, the m...
Read morePutin’s cyber play: What are all these Russian hackers up to?
Russia is pressing its national interests online.Flags and keyboard via shutterstock.comRussia has been implicated in many breaches of U.S. networks in recent months, most notably the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hacks, whose data were subsequentl...
Read moreHow to vote for president when you don't like the candidates
How do voters select a candidate when no one they like is on the ballot? Behavioral scientists have studied decision-making – including voting – for decades. However, researchers usually give respondents at least one appealing option to choose from.This led us to wonder: What do voters d...
Read moreWant to understand your child’s test scores? Here’s what to ignore
What do you need to know about test score reports?Mother image via www.shutterstock.comNow that the first month of school is over, parents can get ready for the next milestone of the school year – they will soon get reports of the state tests their children took last year.My estimates show tha...
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How trade and immigration are colliding with our two-party system
Are drawbridge issues challenging our two-party system?pixabay.comThis year, much interest is focused on what The Economist calls drawbridge politics. Voters who believe in leaving the drawbridge down, so to speak, see opportunities in open borders for immigrants and trade. Voters who believe in pul…
SA blackout politics overshadow the real issues on power generation
I think it was Mark Twain who said: “ Climate is what you want, and weather is what you get”.This was certainly the case in South Australia in the last couple of days when extreme weather events caused a complete black out of the state. A combination of torrential rain, lightening strike…
Vital Signs: President Trump would cause financial Armageddon
Vital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualise weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data impacting global economies.This week: Donald Trump’s criticism of the US Federal Rese…
Whether China is dumping steel in Australia under the 'market economy' label is very subjective
Steel dumping is the latest accusation levelled at China in a growing backlash against the country’s influence in Australia. But dumping can be in the eye of the beholder, depending on how much your country is exporting or importing (or both) and varying government regulations.Dumping occurs w…
Why the pundits are wrong about Hillary Clinton dominating the debate
The vastmajority of punditsdeclared Hillary Clinton the decisive winner of this week’s debate.This includes both conservative and liberal pundits. For instance, Douglas Schoen of Fox News wrote:“She was ready for all of his quips with a litany of detail that may have bored the viewer at …
Why dementia burden may be less than feared
Happy-looking seniors via Shutterstock.From www.shutterstock.comIt is a truism that aging of populations will result in large and potentially unmanageable increases in the number of older adults with dementia.Michael D. Hurd, a senior researcher with RAND, and colleagues estimated the present annual…
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out
Sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry.'Clowns' via www.shutterstock.comFor the past several months, creepy clowns have been terrorizing America, with sightings of actual clowns in at least 10 different states.These fiendish clowns have reportedly tried to lure women and children into the …
Making college affordable: Eight essential reads
Editor’s Note: The following is a round-up of archival stories on college affordability.In the debate on Monday, Sept. 26, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listed “making college debt free,” as part of her plan to build the economy. She said,“I think building t…
