This week we are moving into statistics. You'll definitely want to make sure you have your calculator in class with you this week and next. Statistics is the study of data. We will start by looking at some ways to organize numerical data and compute some basic numerical summaries, then we'll move into Normal distributions and confidence intervals.
The article "Take a statistics and probability class in college" from slate.com argues that everyone should take a course in statistics and probability. We aren't able to cover everything that would be covered in an entire semester of statistics, but hopefully after this unit is over, you will have a better understanding of what we mean when we talk about the probability of a person getting the flu or when a newscaster says a candidate has a 70% approval rate in the polls.
The website www.fivethirtyeight.com computes all sorts of statistics. They also have a weekly "riddle" that uses math, logic, or probability in an interesting way. Choose one "Riddler" question and read the solution. (Or try to solve it yourself.) Were you able to understand the solution? What didn't you understand? Were you surprised by the answer? Print out the riddle and its solution from the website and write a paragraph discussing the riddle and the questions above. You can go directly to the archive of "Riddler" articles at https://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/the-riddler/.
I will be late to my office hours on Tuesday, February 20. I hope to be there by 10:00am, but I will also be in my office from 2:00-3:00pm.
Looking over and reading the articles helped understand the information better and helped me learn information more thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteReading this article made me understand how this section compares to real life, and because of that it makes me more willing to learn and understand.
ReplyDeleteThe article "Take a Probability and Statistics Class in College" resonates well with me. I've never been good at math, and so I have never thought about the importance on probability and statistics. After reading the article and learning about this topic in class I have a better understanding of how probability and statistics in used in real life situations.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Take a Probability and Statistics Class in College" then I think it is interesting yet skewed in itself. I understand the main points of interpreting numbers thrown at us and such, however insisting we need a class about it on top of what we already have is absurd. Making sure you take survey and test results with a grain of salt is common sense. It was a well put together article citing how numbers about cancer or vaccines can be misleading but most of us know that. Adding more mandatory classes to non-math students just isolates us who are not good with numbers. If roles were reversed would math and accounting students want to take more history or English classes since it helps them interpret different things? I very much doubt it.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article "Take a Probability and Statistics class in College, I see why it is some what important to take it. Before actually reading the article, reading the title seemed to grasp my attention. But, within the article, it talked about how these methods that we use during class, is really fundamental with our individual lives, considering, health, finances, etc.
ReplyDelete-Octavia Riley
Reading this article helped me to see why it is important to take probability and statistics in college. I always figured that it was pointless but I do see now why it is important.
ReplyDeleteI am not very good at math so I never thought about how it will help me in the world. This article was a good way to look at math and probability/statistics as useful.
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