Popular Culture

15 December 2003


College Football Championship Decided by Computer
College football faces a dreadful problem. In an effort to find a national champion without actually playing a tournament, the Bowl Championship Series [BCS] was established, a computer ranking system that was supposed to resolve, once and for all, which was the best team. Unfortunately, those who created it forgot GIGO -- garbage in, garbage out. And most statistics are definitely "G." For more, click here.

New Jersey Bear Hunt -- Insoluble Problem

Last week saw the first legal bear hunt in New Jersey in 33 years. The state decided that 1 million acres should be turned over to hunters to help reduced the black bear population of the state. Animal lovers protested that the hunt was unnecessary, while the hunters claimed they were keeping nature in balance. Both sides were right and wrong, but the reality is there is no solution to the problem. Click here to read on.

New York City Snowballs Sell for a Buck
New Yorkers have an unfortunate provincialism about them that is summed up with their catch-phrase "Only in New York." The belief that their city, and only their city, has a corner on the off-beat suggests that they must do more traveling. However, the sight of a man selling snowballs in Times Square for $1 each (after 14 inches of snow fell in Central Park) merits some consideration as truly a case of "Only in New York" -- one hopes. Click here to read more.