The N & M Post

1. The N.S.A. and Math

Everybody's favorite Jeff and David hatin' mathematician is back in the spotlight. (Those who weren't personally privy to that whole sordid saga would do well to read David's post first, since it does a good job providing background.)

Yes, Jonathan Farley is back! This time he's sticking to math. Prof. Farley writes a fascinating article saying that the N.S.A. phone call database is mathematically useless and suggests different ways math could be used for national security. It's a really interesting read.

2. N.P.R. and Me


I noted yesterday - with ever-expanding ego - that I was interviewed on the local NPR affiliate. Well, I got on NPR again. This time, I called a national talk radio show to directly ask the USA Today reporter who broke the NSA call-database story a question I posed in a recent post. I actually got through!

It's pretty late in the show (just before they shifted topics to Darfur and after Admiral Inman had left the show), but you can find it here.