When page-renumbering causes outrage

Ecology is often understood as a hyperlocal thing. The ecology of a pond, for instance, is vastly complex, even if the pond is tiny. But learning solely from local ecosystems is a slow and laborious approach that may not capture widely applicable findings.

In parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, feathery yellow goldenrod and stands of big bluestem sway alongside Indiangrass and other prairie plants, stretching up to eight feet tall. Now, in the search for ways to help ecosystems withstand the weather extremes made worse by climate change, it seems that humble grassland plants like these may have some of the answers.

As organizations increasingly rely on algorithms to rank candidates for jobs, university spots, and financial services, a new method, named hyperFA*IR, offers a more principled approach when picking candidates based on a limited pool of applicants, especially if minorities are few. The new interactive visualization, "Ranks of Disparity," makes these complex dynamics visible.