Most of my day so far has been spent fighting with R. R can be very powerful when it comes to data visualization and plotting but it can also be a furious beast when it comes to parsing data. Many of its modules were written with very specific intentions and aren't quite clear about how they work under the hood.

I'm trying to make something like this, but prettier. Who doesn't like pretty colors?

Not the bees!

Been reading the following paper this evening: Li et al. (2014). Systemic Spread and Propagation of a Plant-Pathogenic Virus in European Honeybees, Apis mellifera. mBio, 5(1), e00898–13–e00898–13. doi:10.1128/mBio.00898-13

Long story short: there's a plant virus which bees can contract by consuming it. This may not be the healthiest thing for the bees as the virus shows up all over their tiny bee bodies. The bees also have to deal with parasitic mites which may be unaffected carriers of the virus. The spread of this virus may contribute to colony collapse disorder, though it's likely not the only factor.

Update (Feb 18, 2014): Listened to an episode of This Week in Virology in which this paper was discussed. They were critical of it for a number of fully justified reasons, most notably that the authors don't show that the plant virus actually infects bees, just that some of the viral RNA can be found in bees and these bees may be less healthy as a result. The link to colony collapse disorder is the conclusion I found hardest to swallow. The TWiV guys suggested that the plant virus (if it is, in fact, even capable of infecting bees) may be one of many opportunistic infections of already weakened bees. This is true for many viral and bacterial infections of immunocompromised animals; without a sturdy immune system's protection, all kinds of otherwise benign life can become pathogens.

Is that a leopard?

I'm glad to live in a place where I can walk to most of my destinations. This benefit becomes readily apparent whenever I look at real estate listings. There are so many homes out there which are either landlocked by suburban sprawl or are smack dab in the middle of Bumpass, metaphorically. I'm in a preferable situation as I can get to a grocery store or restaurant in minutes without even burning any oil. It's really just about the groceries, really.

Speaking of real estate listings, check this one out. I will not comment on the decor beyond the single descriptor "questionable".

You're a Libra, aren't ya darlin?

Time for another personal assessment! This one is the Clifton Strengths Finder, provided by Gallup. I got a code through the class I am participating in so I suspect this test requires a monetary cost. Let's see if that extra bit of investment leads to any valuable insights.

The assessment asks a series of timed questions with paired answers. One of the two answers in each pair can be answered with "Strongly Agree" or "Agree". There's also the option to answer neutrally. Because each question is timed and only allows about 20 seconds to answer, the assessment appears to encourage answering based on initial impressions. I found this to be challenging as many of the questions aren't clear-cut dichotomies: one option may read "I think all people would steal if they had the chance" while the other option reads "People who steal should be punished." In some instances, the options diverge more in tone (i.e., one option sounds optimistic while another sounds pessimistic, or one concerns the past while the other discusses the future) than in content or conclusion. I really couldn't agree with either of the options for some question pairs and had to seek refuge in the Neutral Zone.

As per the name, the results of the Strengths Finder are a list of strengths. These are mine:
1    Analytical
2    Learner
3    Ideation
4    Input
5    Self-Assurance

There's also an expanded list for a total of 34 strength categories. Each category has accompanying explanatory material.
It's interesting to see how all the test results are framed as strengths rather than strength/weakness dichotomies like the Igniter tests I took. While I appreciate the positivist attitude and reduced reliance on binary choices, the resulting lack of resolution in the results diminishes the "yes that certainly sounds like me" factor. In the end, that may be a preferable result as it encourages self-discovery rather than reliance on pre-conceived identity.  

So what can I learn or apply from these results? I can't deny being an analytical person and I do actively enjoy learning. The Ideation category is a little more general but the corresponding material describes people with strong Ideation as  being "...fascinated by new ideas and concepts, which come to them easily." OK, that sounds accurate as well. Input and Self-Assurance roughly translate as "thirst for knowledge" and "confidence in one's judgement". Once again, doesn't seem inaccurate.

Interestingly, my lowest-scoring strength was Harmony, which the material frames as "natural practicality and preference for emotional balance". I find most conflict unproductive and generally avoid it, so I'm surprised this one is at the bottom of the list. The text explains: "building consensus and ensuring people get along are not likely your top priorities".

A few bon-mot suggestions from the results material:

• "Accept that at times you will need to move before all the facts are in place."
• "Be a catalyst for change. Others might be intimidated by new rules, new skills, or new circumstances. Your willingness to soak up this “newness” can calm their fears and spur them to engage. Take this responsibility seriously." 
• "You get bored quickly, so make small changes in your work or home life. Experiment. Play mental games with yourself. All of these will help keep you stimulated."
• "Deliberately increase your vocabulary. Intentionally collect new words and learn their meanings."
• "Seek start-up situations for which no rule book exists. You will be at your best when you are asked to make many decisions."

Overall: not a bad assessment and potentially even useful. It does feel like reading a horoscope but that may just come with the territory.

Analyze This (1999)

The personal development course I am in recently discussed an online set of personality tests by a group called Values Based Leader. Personality tests of any stripe really start ringing my skepticism alarms, especially having worked with the MBTI assessment in the past and finding it misleading. The tests I took are here. Results are below; comments follow.

First is a personality test of 22 questions over 4 minutes, rated on a 4-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.

I started becoming skeptical about this one as soon as it started asking questions about small talk (that is, in the first question). The whole introvert vs. extrovert dichotomy has always felt like such an artificial construct. People already tend to identify as one or the other based on what they tend to do or what they try to avoid. Is it really helpful to define people with such binary categories, or are we doing them a disservice by bundling so many potentially unrelated tendencies together?

Anyway, these are my results. Very little is terribly surprising and it corresponds well with my MBTI results: I'm usually an INTP or INTJ. The bottom line here is what these results tell me and how well they correlate with existing observations. Clearly I can't take anything here at face value. It's true that I tend to be a logical, critical thinker who needs time to contemplate ideas and prefers efficiency. It's difficult to evaluate any of those blindspots, though, without input from living human beings. A personality test isn't and can't be emotional or empathetic, so how can it declare anyone unemotional? (For the record, the "fear of being wrong" is pretty spot-on, but who actually likes being wrong?)


The next bit is an exercise in which words representing Core Values must be dragged n' dropped into bins from Most to Least important. Only the Most Important values appear to be saved. Here are mine:

I had the most trouble deciding which values were least important or unimportant to me. Is Competition really not important? What about Results, whatever that means? Everything is important to me in the right context. Sometimes Results are what I want more than anything else, but I certainly won't get them without the Top Values listed above. Once again, not quite enlightening but I suppose that isn't the point. This stem seems designed to help with isolating values which you'd be willing to make sacrifices for, should it be necessary. 

Is there a way to discuss self-improvement and self-awareness without the breathless enthusiasm of a grade-school art teacher? Enthusiasm is refreshing but it should never oversimplify complex systems. That's how people crash economies. It's also how conspiracy theories become common knowledge.