“To alter; to make different; to cause to pass from one state to another; as, to change the position, character, or appearance of a thing; to change the countenance.” — Webster, 1913. […]
Mr. Word’s definition of the day: to change
How much does winning Iowa and New Hampshire help?
On the earlier poll thread, a reader asked “What’s your opinion about the statistical summary of past results of Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries?” pointing out data from Neatorama.com. The Neatorama […]
Mr. Word’s definition of the day: to gush
“To make a sentimental or untimely exhibition of affection; to display enthusiasm in a silly, demonstrative manner.” — Webster, 1913. For example, this snippet from today’s New York Times editorial. Americans are […]
73.2% of Likely Voters Believe Poll Results
Pollster: Who will you vote for? Civilian: Oh, I don’t know; that guy, the tall one. Pollster: I’ll put you down for Obama. The elections in Iowa are over and the results […]
Oil prices through time: a well-done graph
Source: Wall Street Journal This image, shrunk 50% from it’s original size, is a very well-done statistical graph. It shows, in the pale green line, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of […]
Frank Furedi on the global warming apocalypse
Frank Fuerdi, of Spiked Online, has a delightful article on the daily barrage of panic we hear, in which he says, “In the past year, the threat of doom ? from weather, […]
Calculated Risks: How to know when numbers deceive you: Gerd Gigerenzer
Gerd Gigerenzer, Simon and Schuster, New York, 310 pp., ISBN 0-7432-0556-1, $25.00 Should healthy women get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer? The surprising answer, according to this wonderful new book […]
Hurricanes have not increased: misuse of running means
Most statistics purporting to show that there has been an increase in hurricanes do not use the best statistical methods. I want to highlight one particular method that is often misused, and […]
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