Why We Should Love Statistics By Ted Talk

Statistics provides us with very useful tools and techniques that aide us in dealing with real world scenarios. I have been able to learn several useful concepts by studying statistics that can aide me in making rational and informed decisions that are supported by the analysis results. Statistics as a discipline is the application and development of various processes put in place to gather, interpret, and analyse the information. The quantification of biological, social, and scientific phenomenons, design and analysis of experiments and surveys, and application of

When people hear anything about "probability and statistics", most people tend to zone out. They will defend themselves by stating that they will never use statistics in their life. For some people this could be the case, but for most people their future may be changed by the use of statistics. A good example of how the use of statistics has changed a group of people’s life is the movie Moneyball. Moneyball incorporates the use of probability and statistics with just a simple game of baseball. It follows the Oakland Athletics general manager,Billy Beane, as he uses the power of statistics in order to create and manage his baseball team. Beane faces a problem when he is unable to re-sign three of his best players due to a limited payroll. He

• Provide at least two examples or problem situations in which statistics was used or could be used.

In Stephen Gould's article The Median Isn't the Message, there is an excellent story that displays the power that statistics can play in shaping how we think and our attitude towards certain subjects. When Gould was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1982, he decided to research the life expectancy and was shock that it was only 8 months. Upon looking further he found that under his circumstances, he could fall under the curve much farther out, meaning a longer life expectancy.

Prior to this course I have used statistics in my professional life. During my previous employment at the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine I worked in the student admissions which made my primary job focus the student application process. This process required me to compile statistical information on our applicant pool for faculty and administrative staff to determine who would be accepted. This statistical data included both categorical data, such as current grade level in undergraduate studies, gender, and ethnicity, as well as numerical data such as age, GPAs, average number of courses taken in a semester, credit hours completed, and test scores (Mirabella, 2011). After the admissions process was completed, these different

Statistics, facts, data, and comparisons are absorbing and challenging to present in a way that is anything other than, well, boring. For purposes of an informational presentation, the statistics are unavoidable. However, in this

Statistics refers to the use of numerical information in everyday life to calculate facts and figures in limitless circumstances. In addition, statistics refers to the scientific collecting, classifying, summarizing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting numerical data. This week the class’s objectives were to apply the steps in testing a research hypothesis, to compare the means of two or more groups, and to calculate the correlation between two variables. Learning Team D’s members have reflected on each of these issues and share their insights on these objectives.

the audience, and it is hard to put it to perspective. Therefore, a statistic is appealing to the

Statistics is defined as “the science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis, and numerical facts or data” (Dictionary.com,2012). Sometimes it is important to analyze statistical data in order to understand how something works or doesn’t work. In the case of American public education, there is tons of statistical data being thrown around, but what do all of these numbers really mean? How does this data help us? Although statistics provide clarity for constant scrutiny to the public education school system, they also help us to understand what were doing wrong in the classroom. In comparison of two different states, Nevada and Wisconsin lay at two very

video link, he describes why there is such a critical need for people who understand statistics and managing

1“The Cult of Statistical Significance” was presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings, Washington, DC, August 3rd, 2009, in a contributed session of the Section on Statistical Education. For comments Ziliak thanks many individuals, but especially Sharon Begley, Ronald Gauch, Rebecca Goldin, Danny Kaplan, Jacques Kibambe Ngoie, Sid Schwartz, Tom Siegfried, Arnold Zellner and above all Milo Schield for organizing an eyebrow-raising and standing-room only session.

In his 2013 book, Naked Statistics, Charles Wheelan explains a field that is commonly seen, commonly applied, and commonly misinterpreted: statistics. Though statistical data is ubiquitous in daily life, valid statistical conclusions are not. Wheelan reveals that when data analysis is flawed or incomplete, faulty conclusions abound. Wheelan’s work uncovers statistics’ unscrupulous potential, but also makes a key distinction between deliberate misuse and careless misreading. However, his analysis is less successful in distinguishing common sense from poor judgement, a gap that enables the very statistical issues he describes to perpetuate themselves.

When I heard I had to take statistics I was ready to quit going back to school because everyone that had taken it years ago always told me how hard it was. So, when I became a student in my late blooming years saw that I had to take statistics I freaked out and was well on my way of quitting. Every time I would see I was scheduled to take the class I would change my schedule. Then I actually started the class and dropped it. Well, as you can see I am in the fifth week and writing this paper. I struggled this whole time with the homework assignments until I hired a tutor because I could not out this class off again. I have actually did pretty well when I changed my mind set on how I thought about the class and did indeed learn how to work excel, and do the assignments. Biostatistics allows you to knowledge to ultimately build educated selections regarding findings to include into your own repertoire of data and to follow. Inferential statistics is used when you are trying to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data alone, Descriptive statistics are brief descriptive coefficients that summarize a given data set, and Studying to want to study things in groups statistics was very helpful when learning .

Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines, from the physical and social sciences to the humanities. Statistics are also used for making informed decisions – and misused for other reasons – in all areas of business and government. Statistical methods can be used to summarize or describe a collection of data; this is called descriptive statistics. In addition, patterns in the data may be modeled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the observations, and then used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied; this is called inferential statistics. Both

In How to Lie with Statistics (Huff, 1954), Darrel Huff deciphers statistical examples and explains the means of deception that statistics and statisticians sometimes use to relay false information. Huff also conveys an underlying message of don’t believe everything you’re told, something him and my mother have in common. At first glance, a reader might think that this book will teach people how to actually lie using statistics, but that is not the case. It gives the reader a glimpse or a behind the curtain view of how easily it is to be deceived using numbers and how it is slyly achieved. Ironically he calls the book How to Lie with Statistics almost to tease his audience that the content in this book is not as it appears. To my utmost surprise, I actually rather enjoyed this book. It was a fairly simple read that was filled with new information and showed me how to look closer at statistical figures in the future. The humor was spot on so much, so that I even chuckled aloud occasionally. For the icing on the cake, I even expanded my vocabulary to learn fun words such as rotogravure.