Norm Matloff (你有冇諗清楚呀?)
@matloff.bsky.social
Em. Prof., UC Davis. Various awards, incl. book, teaching, public service. Many books, latest The Art of Machine Learning (uses qeML pkg). Former Editor in Chief, the R Journal. Views mine. heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/matloff.html
Though I do strongly encourage those who know only R to learn Python (see my old tutorial, heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/matloff/publ...), IMO this should not be done until the person is VERY skilled in R.
heather.cs.ucdavis.edu
February 11, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Though I do strongly encourage those who know only R to learn Python (see my old tutorial, heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/matloff/publ...), IMO this should not be done until the person is VERY skilled in R.
Plus...I just don't see ANY benefit for me from IDEs. I've tried quite a few BTW.
February 11, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Plus...I just don't see ANY benefit for me from IDEs. I've tried quite a few BTW.
Please note: I do not use ANY IDE. I don't use IDEs for C/C++, Python, LaTeX, Quarto etc.
IDEs take up precious space on my screen. They cannot be used for debugging parallel code. Typing complex math expressions is SLOWER than writing them with my Vim macros.
RStudio is good for coder novices.
IDEs take up precious space on my screen. They cannot be used for debugging parallel code. Typing complex math expressions is SLOWER than writing them with my Vim macros.
RStudio is good for coder novices.
February 11, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Please note: I do not use ANY IDE. I don't use IDEs for C/C++, Python, LaTeX, Quarto etc.
IDEs take up precious space on my screen. They cannot be used for debugging parallel code. Typing complex math expressions is SLOWER than writing them with my Vim macros.
RStudio is good for coder novices.
IDEs take up precious space on my screen. They cannot be used for debugging parallel code. Typing complex math expressions is SLOWER than writing them with my Vim macros.
RStudio is good for coder novices.
For us Vim fans, the real advantage is programmability, not key bindings. But neither Rstudio nor any other IDE I'm aware of allows this.
February 4, 2026 at 6:51 PM
For us Vim fans, the real advantage is programmability, not key bindings. But neither Rstudio nor any other IDE I'm aware of allows this.
Good point, true for a lot of things.
January 30, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Good point, true for a lot of things.
Interesting idea, nice graphics. Does one have control over the number of bootstrap replications?
January 30, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Interesting idea, nice graphics. Does one have control over the number of bootstrap replications?
Very nice! Any installation/configuration problems?
January 30, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Very nice! Any installation/configuration problems?
The decision is "arguably correct" if the prior is "arguably correct."
January 29, 2026 at 4:59 AM
The decision is "arguably correct" if the prior is "arguably correct."
Depends on what we mean by "fit." One definition, which you are implicitly using would integrated (squared, absolute etc.), but there are others, such as those focusing on sharpness of the peak.
January 22, 2026 at 5:10 AM
Depends on what we mean by "fit." One definition, which you are implicitly using would integrated (squared, absolute etc.), but there are others, such as those focusing on sharpness of the peak.
Not sure what you meant by references to AOC and the GOP, but you may find tinyurl.com/5fpkhune of interest.
tinyurl.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Not sure what you meant by references to AOC and the GOP, but you may find tinyurl.com/5fpkhune of interest.
Unfortunately, this "two moving targets" setting has been the standard genre for math stat people over the last couple of decades. It is a natural approach given the situation, and makes for impressive mathematics, but it is not of much practical value, IMO.
January 17, 2026 at 2:47 AM
Unfortunately, this "two moving targets" setting has been the standard genre for math stat people over the last couple of decades. It is a natural approach given the situation, and makes for impressive mathematics, but it is not of much practical value, IMO.
Actually, a number of papers have been published that purport to enable inference, but yes, they are "tricks." It all depends on how one chooses lambda, and how fast lambda -> 0 in terms of n, which IMO is meaningless in practice. 🧵 1/
January 17, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Actually, a number of papers have been published that purport to enable inference, but yes, they are "tricks." It all depends on how one chooses lambda, and how fast lambda -> 0 in terms of n, which IMO is meaningless in practice. 🧵 1/
This is the public's web page, not the GOP's.
January 16, 2026 at 10:47 PM
This is the public's web page, not the GOP's.
Regularization, no. One cannot do statistical inference there.
Trimmed memes, yes, provided one recognizes that the quantity to be estimated has now changed. But even there, the goal is to get rid of bad data, not to incorporate it!
Trimmed memes, yes, provided one recognizes that the quantity to be estimated has now changed. But even there, the goal is to get rid of bad data, not to incorporate it!
January 16, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Regularization, no. One cannot do statistical inference there.
Trimmed memes, yes, provided one recognizes that the quantity to be estimated has now changed. But even there, the goal is to get rid of bad data, not to incorporate it!
Trimmed memes, yes, provided one recognizes that the quantity to be estimated has now changed. But even there, the goal is to get rid of bad data, not to incorporate it!
Yes, the estimation vs. prediction issue is very important. In terms of the "possible impact on the public" criteria I mentioned (in the concurrent thread on X),estimation is the main concern.
January 16, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Yes, the estimation vs. prediction issue is very important. In terms of the "possible impact on the public" criteria I mentioned (in the concurrent thread on X),estimation is the main concern.
So we see that the Bayesian approach devalues our data.
January 16, 2026 at 8:58 PM
So we see that the Bayesian approach devalues our data.
I once even saw a well-credentialed analyst here in Bluesky say, "An advantage of Bayes is that it gives you the probability..." From context, esp. the use of the word "the," I doubt that they understood either. I've seen others like this. 🧵 4/4
January 16, 2026 at 6:22 PM
I once even saw a well-credentialed analyst here in Bluesky say, "An advantage of Bayes is that it gives you the probability..." From context, esp. the use of the word "the," I doubt that they understood either. I've seen others like this. 🧵 4/4
Note that that doc says an advantage of Bayes is that they "provide probabilistic insights that enhance decision-making under uncertainty." No mention is made of the fact that those "probabilities" are contrived, not at all like what unsuspecting non-techie readers think of as probabilities. 🧵 3/
January 16, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Note that that doc says an advantage of Bayes is that they "provide probabilistic insights that enhance decision-making under uncertainty." No mention is made of the fact that those "probabilities" are contrived, not at all like what unsuspecting non-techie readers think of as probabilities. 🧵 3/
E.g. tinyurl.com/yc59x6ds highlights two "examples." The actual word "exemplar" is not used, but they are highlighted. Yet no explanation is given as to how they chose their priors, or what the priors mean, or why those figures like 16% should be taken as valid. 🧵 2/
Bayesian Statistical Analysis (BSA) Demonstration Project
CDER Center for Clinical Trial Innovation (C3TI)
tinyurl.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:13 PM
E.g. tinyurl.com/yc59x6ds highlights two "examples." The actual word "exemplar" is not used, but they are highlighted. Yet no explanation is given as to how they chose their priors, or what the priors mean, or why those figures like 16% should be taken as valid. 🧵 2/
It's really the overall effect, the "marketing pitch" tone. They say there are these new, "modern" methods (already egregiously misleading), which "reduce clinical trials time by 16%" etc., and cite references. 🧵 1/
Bayesian Statistical Analysis (BSA) Demonstration Project
CDER Center for Clinical Trial Innovation (C3TI)
tinyurl.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:08 PM
It's really the overall effect, the "marketing pitch" tone. They say there are these new, "modern" methods (already egregiously misleading), which "reduce clinical trials time by 16%" etc., and cite references. 🧵 1/
Again, then what will happen? After all the time and money spent, the people shouting, "Hurry up and approve this, patients urgently need it!", what will the FDA panel do?
January 16, 2026 at 6:52 AM
Again, then what will happen? After all the time and money spent, the people shouting, "Hurry up and approve this, patients urgently need it!", what will the FDA panel do?