Sunday data/statistics link roundup (1/12/2014)

Well it technically is Monday, but I never went to sleep so that still counts as Sunday right?

1. As a person who has taught a couple of MOOCs I’m used to getting some pushback from people who don’t like the whole concept. But I’m still happy that I’m not the only one who thinks they are a pretty good idea and still worth doing. I think that both the hype and the backlash are too much. They hype claimed it would completely end the university as we know it. The backlash says it will have no impact. I think more likely it will have a major impact on people who traditionally don’t attend colleges. That’s ok with me. I think this post gets it about right.
2. The Leekasso is finally dethroned! Korbinian Strimmer used my simulation code and compared it to CAT scores in the sda package coupled with Higher Criticism feature selection. Here is the accuracy plot. Looks like Leekasso is competitive with CAT-Leekasso, but CAT+HC wins. Big win for Github there and thanks to Korbinian for taking the time to do the simulation!
3. Jack Andraka is getting some pushback from serious scientists on the draft of his paper describing the research he outlined in his TED talk. He is taking the criticism like a pro, which says a lot about the guy. From reading the second hand reviews, it sounds like his project was like most good science projects  - it made some interesting progress but needs a lot of grinding before it turns into something real. The hype made it sound too good to be true. I hope that he will just ignore the hype machine from here on in and keep grinding (via Rafa).
4. I’ve probably posted this before, but here is the illustrated guide to a Ph.D. Lest you think that little bump doesn’t matter, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and read this.
5. The bmorebiostat bloggers (http://bmorebiostat.com/), if you aren’t following them, you should be.
6. Potentially cool website for accessing treasury data.
7. Ok its 5am. I need a githug and then off to bed.