duck, duck, …magnetic duck

“Mallards in tight formation tends to face either north or south when landing. Because vision alone cannot prevent collision between these high-speed flyers, the ducks use sensors in their eyes, beaks and ears to align themselves to Earth’s magnetic field.” Nature, vol. 531, 31 March 2016

Toulouse, la ville rose…

I had a great time in Toulouse at the French (SFDS) statistical association meeting over those two days, from running along the canals to enjoying good company—this is Jean-Michel Marin’s hometown and he showed me around—, good views—when it did not pour—, good food—mostly duck— and good local wines…! I gave a plenary talk on consistent ABC model choice to a fairly large audience, hopefully understandable. However, I felt a bit overwhelmed by having to explain The Accident to so many of my colleagues that I somehow wish they had… read the ‘ Og first!!! I chaired an interesting applied Bayesian session with case studies in homeland security, avalanches, floods, and heavy metal (in cabbages, Julien, not in my ears!)