Tag: Data
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You are part of the royal family. Probably.
A leading geneticist has calculated that almost every Briton is directly descended from Edward III. But many find facts like this scarcely believable. Why are we so bad at probability?
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How data has transformed the World Cup
Are statistics killing the magic of football? The upcoming World Cup will be the most analysed ever, as football has finally started to take data seriously. How much does it matter?
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How the EU plans to transform data privacy
Who should own our data? With just days to go before Europe introduces tough new privacy laws, yesterday Mark Zuckerberg apologised (again) for any “harm” caused by Facebook.
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‘Super blue blood Moon’ lights up the sky
Why are coincidences so interesting? Yesterday morning a large, reddish Moon heralded an incredibly rare celestial convergence. What do coincidences say about the way we think?
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Meet the world’s largest known prime number
How important are prime numbers? The largest known prime number has just been discovered by an engineer from Tennessee. It is 23 million characters long and is known simply as M77232917.
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No end in sight for meteoric bitcoin rise
Could bitcoin replace traditional currency? The cryptocurrency’s value has doubled in a fortnight. One bitcoin is now worth over $15,000. But some believe the revolution has only just begun.
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Winston Churchill: alien life is out there
A newly-found article shows the man who led Britain to victory in the second world war arguing life may exist on other planets. Most scientists agree. So what are the chances they are right?
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Just eight days to go and too close to call
A week ago it seemed Clinton had victory sewn up. Then the polls started to narrow. Then the FBI announced a new inquiry into her misuse of emails. Now some are predicting a shock Trump win.
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Voting patterns mean Trump could win (really)
There are 99 days until the US presidential election. Many consider the prospect of a Donald Trump victory unthinkable. But now one industry-leading pollster says it is very possible.
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Three weeks to go: polls say UK could leave EU
The latest surveys say Britain could be on the verge of quitting the EU. Commentators have learnt the hard way to be wary of opinion polls. Who should really take comfort from the data?
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Trump and Sanders leave pundits floundering
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were written off by commentators. But as Americans prepare to choose their next president, both are threatening to spring shocks. Have the experts lost touch?
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Scientists ‘find’ over two trillion new trees
There are likely to be eight times more trees in the world than we previously thought, according to a new study. When they can be so wrong, should we trust in the statistics we read?
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Shops ‘special offer’ dirty tricks exposed
The consumer magazine Which? has published a damning catalogue of misleading offers used by supermarkets to lure shoppers into spending extra money. How can you avoid being duped?
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Humans getting smarter, psychologists claim
Performance in IQ tests is rising drastically all over the world, leading some psychologists to talk of a ‘cognitive revolution’. Are we becoming more intelligent, or just better at tests?
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Anger as ticket costs ‘price out’ football fans
Already expensive, English football tickets are becoming even more unaffordable, a new study shows. Is it ruining the ‘beautiful game’ and is there anything fans can do about it?