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Pradeep Mutalik

Puzzle Columnist

Art for "Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories"
Insights puzzle

Solution: ‘Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories’

By Pradeep Mutalik
September 7, 2018
Read Later

How much stock should we put in mathematical models of evolution that have not been validated by rigorous empirical data?

Art for "Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories"
Insights puzzle

Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories

By Pradeep Mutalik
August 15, 2018
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Evolutionary stories like the grandmother hypothesis are easy to construct from mathematical models, but how well do they reflect reality?

Illustation for "The Slippery Math of Causation"
Insights puzzle

Solution: ‘The Slippery Math of Causation’

By Pradeep Mutalik
June 29, 2018
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The all-too-intuitive picture of a straight arrow going from cause to effect is far too simplistic to describe the real world.

Illustation for "The Slippery Math of Causation"
Insights puzzle

The Slippery Math of Causation

By Pradeep Mutalik
May 30, 2018
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If a forest is burning and we don’t know what’s responsible, does it have a cause?

Illustration for "How the DNA Computer Program Makes You and Me"
Insights puzzle

Solution: ‘The DNA Computer Program’

By Pradeep Mutalik
April 27, 2018
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Computer code serves as a useful analogy for what our genes do, but the complexity and messiness of life go well beyond simple analogies and mathematical models.

Illustration for "How the DNA Computer Program Makes You and Me"
Insights puzzle

How the DNA Computer Program Makes You and Me

By Pradeep Mutalik
April 5, 2018
Read Later

Can a set of simple instructions produce complex, three-dimensional living structures?

520px illustration of a man falling and missing a hay stack to land on.
Insights puzzle

Solution: ‘When Probability Meets Real Life’

By Pradeep Mutalik
March 2, 2018
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When our brains don’t have a good intuition for reasoning with numbers, explicit probabilistic thinking can lead to improved decision-making.

520px illustration of a man falling and missing a hay stack to land on.
Insights puzzle

When Probability Meets Real Life

By Pradeep Mutalik
February 8, 2018
Read Later

When faced with a difficult decision, should you go with your gut or carefully calculate the attendant risks?

Illustration: man using rulers stacked on a compass as a telescope
Insights puzzle

Solution: ‘Triangulation and Motion Sickness’

By Pradeep Mutalik
January 30, 2018
Read Later

A method for estimating distances in sailing and astrophysics helps explain why riding on buses and boats can make us nauseous.


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