Insights and Ideas from the American Academy of Actuaries
Contingencies
Features
Is ‘Data Science’ an Existential Threat for Actuaries?
By David L. Driscoll What the hot new career choice can tell us about our profession's future If you entered the actuarial profession back in the days when progress toward actuarial credentials could be pinpointed simply by asking a candidate...
Predictably Irrational—Applying behavioral economics to actuarial science
By Randall Stevenson At some time in every actuary's career, one will observe human behavior that from an actuarial or economic perspective defies the theory that people will behave to promote their self-interest. How often have we observed...
Calculating Death with Dignity
By Jeff Reeves As more states legalize medically assisted suicide, what does it mean for actuaries? In 1993, the Oregon Right to Die coalition was founded with a simple goal: to help write and encourage the passage of a law that would allow...Departments
Inside Track
On Resolutions
By Eric Harding
It's that time of year again. Changing the calendar seems like a natural time to take stock of where we are in life-and where we want to be. For some of us, that assessment leads us to undertake the oft-maligned New Year's...
President’s Message
More to the Picture—The ‘Effectiveness’ of the Academy’s Motto
By D. Joeff Williams
While recently reading an article about great paintings, I noticed it talked about three common elements for an effective painting: a "strong focal point," "layers of color," and "changes in direction." While not an art scholar...
Up To Code
Precept 11—Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth
By Kenneth A. Kent
Every Precept of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) is considered essential in meeting our responsibility to the public in support of our profession. We rarely highlight Precept 11, Advertising. While infrequent,...
Workshop
The Actuaries Climate Index and the Actuaries Climate Risk Index—Informative Results With a ‘Just the Facts’ Approach
By Steve Jackson
"Just the facts" is a phrase that has come to mean objectivity is primary. This is the Academy's mantra as well. In providing the facts about our efforts to provide objective and unbiased information about climate issues, I think...
Tradecraft
Data Quality—Why Hygiene Matters
By Greg Frankowiak
When it comes to actuarial work (or analytics work in general), few parts of the process are as important as making sure that the data used is of good quality. While the data processing part of a project can often take the most...
Booklinks
The Art of Statistics: How to Learn From Data
Review By Ardian Gill
The Art of Statistics: How to Learn From Data
By David Spiegelhalter
A quick quiz: How many books on statistics have you read
that begin with 215 murders? Everyone who answers correctly gets to buy
Spiegelhalter's...
Crossword
Bending All the Rules
By Warren Manners
Across
Down
1
Leo's dad
1
4 out of 52
6
Quarry
2
Muscat resident
10
First mate
3
Rattles
14
Multitudes
4
To the ____ (full)
19
Forcefully
5
Matrilineal
20
Advanced
6
Hypotension drug
21
Star in Lyra
7
Campus...
Cryptic Puzzle
Sometimes You Don’t Have a Clue
By Tom Toce
Six entries are unclued. You will be able to figure out the entries through the crossed letters and with the knowledge that they pertain to subject matter that often appears in this magazine. There are five proper nouns (two don't have...
Puzzles
Differences
By Stephen Meskin
When I was a kid, I delivered a daily newspaper in Levittown, a planned community on Long Island. Part of my job was keeping track of who paid their bill. I had a small notebook with the pages divided into columns. At the top of...
End Paper
Fancy Meeting You Here!
By Bob Rietz
I've flown about once a month for 25 years and it finally happened. For the first time I can recall, I ran into someone I know in an airport. What's the probability of that?
However, it was actually not the first time this has...
