Graham Hill: Less Stuff, More Happiness

#12 The counter argument to the McMansion craze!

Naomi Klein: Addicted To Risk

#13 Has modern life caused us to forget the risk?

Rebecca MacKinnon: Let's Take Back The Internet!

#14 The internet a gift and a challenge to freedom!

Sebastian Thrun: Google's Driverless Car

End-of-the-year collaboration between TED and The Huffington Post counting down 18 great ideas of 2011 that they believe will shape 2012. Watch, engage, and share these groundbreaking ideas as they are unveiled one-by-one. Standby, the countdown is under way!

#15 The car of the future and not too distant future!

Deb Roy: The Birth Of A Word

End-of-the-year collaboration between TED and The Huffington Post counting down 18 great ideas of 2011 that they believe will shape 2012. Watch, engage, and share these groundbreaking ideas as they are unveiled one-by-one. Standby, the countdown is under way!

#16 A study on the development of communication.

Kathryn Schulz On Regret

End-of-the-year collaboration between TED and The Huffington Post counting down 18 great ideas of 2011 that they believe will shape 2012. Watch, engage, and share these groundbreaking ideas as they are unveiled one-by-one. Standby, the countdown is under way!

#17 Learning to accept who we are.

Kevin Slavin: How Algorithms Shape Our World

End-of-the-year collaboration between TED and The Huffington Post counting down 18 great ideas of 2011 that they believe will shape 2012. Watch, engage, and share these groundbreaking ideas as they are unveiled one-by-one. Standby, the countdown is under way!

#18 The technology of algorithms truly awesome in the correct sense of the word. This video will both excite and terrify you about the future of algorithms and the world of tomorrow.

New Jersey Math

               A few years back I was working for a local parish as a Pastoral Minister. One of my responsibilities and achievements was the initiation and administration of a men's retreat weekend.  During these weekends a series of witness talks were given by a team of men. These talks consisted of the men sharing their everyday lives in relationship to God. Over the ten years of running these weekends, I was privy to some very profound sharing. Although, the stories were profound the men would often weave humor into their story lines. In particular one of the opening's of a talk always brings a smile to my face. The gentleman began his talk with this line "I was born in the summer of 1950 in Christ Hospital, Jersey City, just in time to vote twice in the November 1950 elections.”  You see Hudson County NJ has the dubious reputation of voter fraud and corruption – think Tony Soprano! As a lifelong Hudson and Bergen County resident I can admit some truth to this reputation, but I think some of the reputation is more folklore rather than based in reality. It still may be honest to say New Jersey has a funny perspective on math and numbers and that point was recently driven home for me in two state developments.

Like most states New Jersey is struggling with budget demands pitting revenues against expenditures - and this post is not an argument for the best solutions (maybe a future post) but a request to at least start with good math. Recently the current Administration under the  guidance of Governor Christie declared victory on pension reform but the victory could turn out to be a big loser if we do not pay attention to the math in this solution. All one has to do is look at the pension investment plan  - Experts say taxpayers could be hit with much higher pension bills if it does not make 8.25 percent interest which it expects to earn each year on investments till 2018. Yes you read that right 8.25 investment return ever year over the next seven years - if you believe that kind of return on your investment, I have a bridge in Brooklyn you can have for a song. There is no way this kind of return will happen - I am afraid this is another example of financial vehicles gone wild. Wall Street over promising with false hope to an already beleaguered economy. Let's look for answers but let's start with realistic numbers.

The second example of  New Jersey Math can be found in a recent announcement from the NJ-Department of  Education - Department of Education announces formation of College and Career Readiness Task Force. Contained in the announcement was the following quote:


"When you have over 90 percent of students who matriculate to Bergen and Essex County Community Colleges requiring remediation before they can begin college-level work, we clearly are not hitting that mark," said Acting Commissioner Christopher D. Cerf.

While I am not trying to diminish the great value that Bergen and Essex County Community Colleges provide to the students of New Jersey. These institutions are not considered by college preparatory high school students to be the institution of choice - in fact most of New Jersey CP students do not even consider these colleges a safe choice when completing college applications. Again, I am not saying this as a knock on these institutions but trying to define realistic expectations. The majority of students finding their way to these institutions are coming form a background of general courses in high school - not a college preparatory program. Students coming to these institutions with a general course of studies in high school would obviously lack the ability to do college level work, as they did not follow a college preparatory course of studies. So I think to be surprised by 90% needing remediation is looking at the wrong statistic. We need to look at the number of students in high school CP programs who need remediation - this would be a better way to rate how prepared college bound students are being served by New Jersey high schools. Again, starting with the right math will lead to better outcomes.