A newly published study is bad news for news organizations — it’s a burp in the stream of guaranteed-attention-getting medical reports that suggest coffee-drinking might cause cancer. The study is: “Coffee and Cancer Risk: A Summary Overview,” Gianfranco Alicandro [pictured here], Alessandra Tavani, and Carlo La Vecchia, European Journal of Cancer Prevention, epub March 2017. The authors, at the University of […]
Tag: risk
The Dilemma-Zone Calculation
Yellow traffic lights posed and provided an opportunity for applied mathematicians. Witness this study, published more than a half century ago: “The Problem of the Amber Signal Light in Traffic Flow,” Denos Gazis [pictured here, reportedly thrilling an audience], Robert Herman, and Alexei Maradudint, Operations Research, vol. 8, no. 1, 1960, pp. 112-132. The authors, […]
Breakthrough in guessing the risk of popping a balloon
A possible huge breakthrough of some sort, yielding important insights of some variety, may be reported in this study in which 64 students (actually it was 66, but “Data from two participants were removed due to a failure to follow instructions”) were asked to guess when a balloon would pop: “Knowing Where to Draw the Line: Perceptual […]
A Somewhat Scientific Risk Analysis of Risk Analysis’s Scientificness
Journalist Dan Vergano points out the disciplined approach, in this study, of using using risk analysis to analyze whether risk analysis is scientific: “Is Risk Analysis Scientific?” Sven Ove Hansson [pictured here] and Terje Aven, Risk Analysis, epub June 11, 2014. The authors, at Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and the University of Stavanger, Norway, explain: […]