Posted inStatistics
Tests For Randomness Aren’t What You Think
Here is a random event. When I wrote this article I either had a quarter or a nickel in my pocket; I did not have both. Did I have a…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Why Decision Analysis Isn’t Straightforward
Vast subject, decision analysis, but we can get a grip on a corner of it if we consider the simplest of problems, the do-don't do, yes-no, gonna happen-ain't gonna happen,…
Posted inStatistics
You Need To Beat More Than Just The Odds
Note: this is a sketch of a talk I gave yesterday at a conference filled with computer programmers, network and software engineers. This is Las Vegas, the land of magic.…
Posted inStatistics
Two Common Statistical Fallacies
Here are two fun fallacies, excerpted from a paper I wrote a couple of years ago in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. For more on this sort of…
Posted inStatistics
Real Versus Statistical Control
The ideal experiment is one in which control is exerted over all aspects of an environment. We desire to measure an outcome; for ease suppose this is a simple number.…
Posted inBook review Statistics
Don’t Be Uncertain: Buy Uncertainty!
The Restoration has begun! Participate by buying Uncertainty: The Soul of Modeling, Probability & Statistics. Money spent wisely I do not say revolution, but Restoration. It is past time to…
Posted inStatistics
A Simple (But Not Short) Stats Question
From reader JH: Thank you again for taking the time to write your blog. It is exceptionally thought-provoking. My job involves much of the six sigma "capability" studies and such.…
Posted inStatistics
To Undergo Chemotherapy Or Not
Headline: "How I used math to conquer my cancer" by Michael Kaplan. Gist: fellow named Reitzen, 45, discovered he had kidney cancer. "The doctor came up to my house and…