I have to take Elementary Statistics.
I can't track down my ex-professor and the program I'm attending won't accept that I passed Research Methods (which had statistics as a prereq) as proof that I don't need to take Elementary Statistics.
The class isn't that hard. It's fun, in fact (I do tend to lean on the rational, Vulcan side of things). However, it's just one more thing I need to do on top of everything else. Hurumph!
Being a multitasker and advantagist (doesn't that sound better than opportunist?), I have tentatively decided to doodle again on my notes. It's so high school, but whatev.
The above started off as a rocket ship that looked too phallic, so I added wings on it and it turned into the ship G-force flew in (remember that show, Battle of the Planets?), and then added a hasty sketch of Mark, the leader of G-Force. I tried to make his eye all anime, but failed.
You'll notice that the doodles get more complex as the class progresses. It's not because the class is getting easier or that I'm paying less attention, but that I'm getting into my doodling!
You'll notice that the doodles get more complex as the class progresses. It's not because the class is getting easier or that I'm paying less attention, but that I'm getting into my doodling!See the doggie? And see that I don't know what a pug looks like? It certainly doesn't look like what I scribbled over there.
Pugs are one of my favorite breeds, too. How's that for realizing I don't pay as much attention to the world as I think I do?
Here, you can see a poor excuse of a star lamp. I want a big brass or copper star. I think they're pretty.
They have some that are poked with holes and made into lamps. Those are pretty, too.
Danger! Will Robinson! Danger! There's variance ahead!
This is what happens when I get all involved without a photo reference. The Batman and outliers, how funny is that?
I.
6 comments:
Hi Ivan. You wrote s^2 = sigma^2.
This is not correct. sigma is the standard deviation for the entire population. s is the standard deviation from the sample. In practice these are never the same.
Don't worry - the first one is free... You know who.
Aw, thanks! :)
Reading over my notes, I think I was writing that
Variance = (standard deviation)^2
So s is the standard deviation for a sample, and s^2 is the variance for a sample and sigma^2 is the variance for a population. They're not equal to each other, they're just written one above the other.
I usually don't write down notes (I'm an auditory learner) but I do for math (which I haven't had since sophomore or junior year in high school) because I have anxiety about it and interferes with my ability to process, understand, and memorize it.
It's weird, too. After I write it down, I forget it. If we were to sit down and have a conversation about statistics, it would go into long term memory.
I'm a relational kinda guy. :)
Hugs,
I.
Why bother taking notes...it's not like you can read your chicken scratch afterward! :P
I have an unnatural love of statistics and I'm glad to see these classes are still being taught instead of the how-to-run-the-computer-program-that-will-think-for-you labs.
I WAY dig the doodles and the intersection of right and left brains, as it were.
I actually think statistics is fun, and it feels like it gives me a grip on the world (at least the world as it's presented to us).
I think statistics and research methods should be required (for those who haven't taken them before, ahem) because it makes one less manipulable by those who use statistics, like drug companies, politicians, etc.
The class is taught with an emphasis on interpreting data, so there is the "let the computer do it" but we also have to learn how to do it by hand, first, which I appreciate.
As for my terrible, awful handwriting, yes, I even have trouble reading it afterwards, but I don't really use my notes per se--they're a visual touchstone so that when I look at them, I remember what I heard and learned in class.
Agreed! There's no way to be a good clinician if you cannot consume the literature in an intelligent manner. People who think clinical work and research methods can be divorced from each other are fooling themselves and cheating their patients.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
That's quoted in my stats textbook! (The guy has a great sense of humor and the book is well written. I love reading the little sidebars with trivia about stats, too.)
I think it's also the title of a book.
I'm constantly pointing out research design and stats in my graduate classes. My nicknames are alternatively "Mr. Cognitive" and "The Voice of Reason." I think it counteracts some of the mushy-boundaried-touchy-feeliness that I think does damage to clients/patients.
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