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Quote by Naguib Mahfouz

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Sugar Street

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Author

Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian film writer known for his profound insights into Egyptian society and culture. His works extensively covered historical, religious, and contemporary social issues, profoundly influencing Egyptian cinema. more

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“إنه تحدث في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية 40 ألف حالة عدوى جديدة في السنة، وحوالي 900 ألف شخص يعيشون بالمرض. ربع هؤلاء لا يعلمون أنهم مصابون.”

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Book:Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student
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“Vexed with herself, Cassandra took a handkerchief from the congealed pocket of her dress and pressed it hard over a new trickle of tears. After a minute or two had passed, she became aware of someone ascending the stairs in a measured tread. Embarrassed to be caught crying on the steps like a lost child, Cassandra struggled to rise. A low voice stopped her. "No... please. I only wanted to give you this." Through a blur, she saw the dark form of Tom Severin, who had come to stand a step below her, with two glasses of iced champagne in his hands. He extended one to her. Cassandra began to reach for it, but hesitated. "I'm not supposed to have champagne unless it's mixed with punch." One corner of his wide mouth tipped upward. "I won't tell." Cassandra took the glass gratefully, and drank. The cold fizz was wonderful, easing the dry tightness of her throat. "Thank you," she murmured.”

Tom SeverinCassandra And TomThoughful
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“Will those insights be tested,or simply used to justify the status quo and reinforce prejudices? When I consider the sloppy and self-serving ways that companies use data, I'm often reminded of phrenology, a pseudoscience that was briefly the rage in the nineteenth century. Phrenologists would run their fingers over the patient's skull, probing for bumps and indentations. Each one, they thought, was linked to personality traits that existed in twenty-seven regions of the brain. Usually the conclusion of the phrenologist jibed with the observations he made. If the patient was morbidly anxious or suffering from alcoholism, the skull probe would usually find bumps and dips that correlated with that observation - which, in turn, bolstered faith in the science of phrenology. Phrenology was a model that relied on pseudoscientific nonsense to make authoritative pronouncements, and for decades it went untested. Big Data can fall into the same trap. Models like the ones that red-lighted Kyle Behm and black-balled foreign medical students and St. George's can lock people out, even when the "science" inside them is little more than a bundle of untested assumptions.”

ScienceFairnessPseudosciencePhrenologyBig DataFeedback Loop
Book:Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
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“Because we bump into reinforcing loops so often, it is handy to know this shortcut: The time it takes for an exponentially growing stock to double in size, the “doubling time,” equals approximately 70 divided by the growth rate (expressed as a percentage). Example: If you put $100 in the bank at 7% interest per year, you will double your money in 10 years (70 ÷ 7 = 10). If you get only 5% interest, your money will take 14 years to double.”

EconomicsFeedback LoopRule Of 72
Book:Thinking in Systems: A Primer
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