Category: Technology and Society

Why is there a Fly in My Urinal?

By Kirk Williams | May 18, 2020 | Categories:
Technology and Society,

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Wall-mounted urinals in men’s public restrooms have a glaring design defect. Or perhaps the flaw is with male attention span. Whatever the case, the problem, simply put, is spillage. That is, when men use these urinals they often miss. What should be going into the ceramic bowl ends up in…

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Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

By Kirk Williams | May 11, 2020 | Categories:
Technology and Society,

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Mark Twain famously remarked that there are “lies, damn lies, and statistics.” It’s a quote a lot of people like to invoke when statistics either don’t line up with public perceptions, or when they seem to muddy the waters, making it more difficult to understand a given phenomenon. We are…

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COVID-19 and the Digital Divide

By Kirk Williams | May 7, 2020 | Categories:
Technology and Society,

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“School starts in 5 minutes” I tell my sons. Since the stay at home order went into effect, I’ve been their new teacher. And I’m still in my pajamas. These last weeks have been challenging, to say the least. The novel, unprecedented COVID-19 virus has changed us all: upended our…

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