Travel and Class

I've been here for a bit, but haven't gotten outside of London yet. Not like I really need to because London really is a swinging city and there is plenty to do and see here that is worthwhile. It would be a crime if I didn't take advantage of my time here and see stuff. But I am so no worries.

I am one step closer to getting out of the city. Besides some day trips to Bath, Oxford, and Canterbury, I'm in the midst of planning to go to Praha in early December. Hopefully it will be all snowy and wintry and quaint looking. I hear the beer is cheap too.

I could mention what I have calculated is my total workload for the year: 4 problem sets each week, 2 papers total, 2 presentations total (5 minutes each, pretty much recite 2 assignments I would have done already for the class anyway) and then 4 finals. That's it. I guess finals are going to be brutal then

This was always sort of unsettling when I was learning about it at Georgetown, but is now moreso since I have been taking Econometrics and Development economics. Statistics can calculate what the expected value will be of something and how the random values will be distributed and what the probabilities are for the random values. But these statistical methods are applied ot human actions and demographics, and it seems we can predict by taking into account residuals and plotting accurate regressions, what is the primary motive or cause behind any statistical relationship. Scary thought. Really then, do we have free will? Are humans and their attributes really just mathematical formulae? Statistics seems to say we can map all of this out. Ah too bad I can't have debate with my friends from Regis on this like old times!