person:kevin drum

Know Your Gun Terminology ! | Mother Jones

►http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/12/know-your-gun-terminology
By Kevin Drum
Tue Dec. 18, 2012

One of the more annoying features of the gun control debate is the frequent mockery from gun rights folks toward anyone who doesn’t have a deep technical understanding of how firearms operate. After all, how much do you need to know to figure out whether you think dangerous weapons ought to be regulated more than they are now? And yet, occasionally I have to admit that I sympathize with the gun folks a little bit. Here’s a fragment from Hardball yesterday:

CHRIS CILLIZZA: ....You mention in the ammunition used in this shooting was one of these high-round ammunitions.....Chuck is right, the president, I think....he has to do something. The question is, does he do something around these high-round ammunition holders?....Eventually — OK, let’s say assault weapons or let’s say these high-caliber — these high-pack rounds — if they do that, what will they do next....

Data Données Visualisation

More Data, Please | Mother Jones

►http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/more-data-please

By Kevin Drum
Thu Jul. 5, 2012 8:03 PM PDT

The Wall Street Journal is the latest to succumb to the forces of goodness and light:

Most style guides and dictionaries have come to accept the use of the noun data with either singular or plural verbs, and we hereby join the majority.

As usage has evolved from the word’s origin as the Latin plural of datum, singular verbs now are often used to refer to collections of information: Little data is available to support the conclusions.

Otherwise, generally continue to use the plural: Data are still being collected.

(As a singular/plural test, try to substitute statistics for data: It doesn’t work in the first case — little statistics is available — so the singular is fails to pass muster. The substitution does work in the second case — statistics are still being collected – so the plural are passes muster.)

Data Données VIsualisation

Data plural versus data singular

►http://flowingdata.com/2012/07/12/data-plural-versus-data-singular

July 12, 2012 to Statistics by Nathan Yau

Kevin Drum on data is or data are:

Now, I know that lots of people continue to foolishly disagree with me about this, but I’m curious how far they’re willing to push things. If you had, say, five bits of information, would you say I only have five data? If you really, truly believe that data is a plural noun, you’d have no problem with this. But does anyone actually do it?