Latest Posts
Guest Post: Analysis of HSC Scaling
This is a guest post from Martin Mulcare. Thanks Martin for taking up my challenge! And it is nice to see that ours isn’t the only family that finds this an interesting enough topic for the dinner table. Jennifer’s latest Actuarial Eye blogpost caught my attention and I have takenContinue Reading
Scaling in the NSW HSC – call for reader analysis
Last month, I did a bit of analysis of maths study in NSW, which has caused a fair bit of interest in my maths loving friends and colleagues. I analysed the change in maths study over the last 25 years in NSW. Back in 1991, Maths extension 1 (known thenContinue Reading
Book Review: Not Guilty by Nicolette Rubinsztein
Today’s book review is Not Guilty, by Nicolette Rubinsztein. This book, by an actuary, is about managing a career while being a working mother. So it was pretty much essential that I review it here, where I often write about work, family and even actuarial issues. Nicolette and I have also beenContinue Reading
Advance maths study really is in decline in NSW
Inspired by GeekinSydney‘s recent post about HSC subjects, I took a deep dive into HSC study statistics this weekend. What I found was a bit scary for anyone who is looking for a future mathematically inclined workforce. Since 2001, when maths stopped being compulsory, the numbers of students studying mathsContinue Reading
APRA proposes changes to the role of Appointed Actuary
Regular readers of this blog might recall some previous posts of mine on the role of the Appointed Actuary. APRA had asked the Industry and the Actuarial profession for views on how the role of the Appointed Actuary should change, given difficulties in recruiting (particularly in life insurance) and a perceivedContinue Reading
Book Review: Superforecasting
Today’s book review is Superforecasting: The art and science of Prediction, by Philip E Tetlock and Dan Gardner. When I explain my work as an actuary to people not involved in finance, I explain that I work out how much money the insurance company needs to set aside from the premiumsContinue Reading
Book Review: The son also rises: Surnames and the history of social mobility
Today’s book review is of The Son also rises: Surnames and the history of social mobility, by Gregory Clark. This book is an extremely wide-ranging attempt to answer the question of how much your parents matter to your ability to make your way in the world. A common way of measuringContinue Reading
The latest statistics on public and private schools
I’ve been challenged by my fellow blogger Geek in Sydney to write about the recent public and private school data from the ABS. The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that the Exodus from public to private schools stops. They report, According to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday, 65.2Continue Reading
Is mortality improving? Who for?
Late last year, there was a flurry of mainstream interest in mortality statistics – here is the New York Times reporting on a study by two economists (Ann Case and Angus Deaton) The paper: documents a marked increase in the all-cause mortality of middle-aged white non-Hispanic men and women in the United StatesContinue Reading
Book Review: Lost Enlightenment
Today’s book review is a bit different for this blog – the book is a fairly dense history of a part of the world that doesn’t get much attention these days. It is Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane, by S Frederick Starr. I bought this bookContinue Reading