Snakes, Bananas and Buried Treasure: The Case For Practical Jokes

We all appreciate a good joke. Humor is good for the soul

Minimizing Statistical Bias with Queries

I describe an exploration criterion that attempts to minimize the error of a learner by minimizing its estimated squared bias. I describe experiments with locally-weighted regression on two simple kinematics problems, and observe that this "bias-only" approach outperforms the more common "variance-only" exploration approach, even in the presence of noise

Neural Network Exploration Using Optimal Experiment Design

We consider the question "How should one act when the only goal is to learn as much as possible?" Building on the theoretical results of Fedorov [1972] and MacKay [1992], we apply techniques from Optimal Experiment Design (OED) to guide the query/action selection of a neural network learner. We demonstrate that these techniques allow the learner to minimize its generalization error by exploring its domain efficiently and completely. We conclude that, while not a panacea, OED-based query/action has much to offer, especially in domains where its high computational costs can be tolerated

Creating Havoc: Havoc Development Program

One area where use of the computer is essential is in the modern scientific laboratory. High speed computation, data storage and data analysis enable scientists to perform experiments that would otherwise be impractical. A problem inherent to the effective use of special purpose laboratory computers, however, is the fact that this equipment has generally been developed for highly specific uses, and has either tried to cope with existing high-level languages or has abandoned the attempt and required the user to program in a low-level assembly or machine language. Our idea was to design, develop and implement a programming language that is suited to the needs of a laboratory scientist. Our results have led us to believe that the best way to achieve our goals was using an interpretive/compiled programming environment (similar in spirit to FORTH) in which large programs could be built in small, coherent pieces, that could easily be tested on as high or low a level as the programmer desired. Our language, Havoc, adheres to these principles while providing many of the more widespread and useful language features not found in FORTH. Besides giving it motivation, this preliminary report describes the current design and implementation status of the HAVOC system. The current version of the HAVOC system is available for the Macintosh

The Rise and Fall of Affirmative Action injury Selection

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has historically experienced difficulty in achieving jury compositions that truly represented the surrounding community. In response, the Authors share their insight as to how the court instituted a balancing program. By reducing the number of white names in the jury wheel, the balancing program successfully incorporated more minorities into the jury system. The Authors further discuss the Sixth Circuit decision, United States v. Ovalle, which marked the end of the balancing program