Posted inStatistics
Lady Wins Fourth Lottery: What Are the Odds?
I'm in the wild blue yonder today; so here is a distraction. Thanks to reader Jade for suggesting the topic. Nobody can scratch better than Las Vegas resident Joan Ginther,…
Posted inStatistics
Consensus Members Agree To Agree: Breaking Story
The agreement amongst climatologists who agree that mankind will cause devastating climate change is popularly known as "The Consensus." Those who agree with the consensus are part of the consensus;…
Posted inFun Statistics
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: Kobayahsi Arrested! Records and Statistics
Sonna no uso da! Fuzakeruna yo! Were those the words of ex-champ Takeru Kobayahsi as he brazenly stormed the stage at the ninety-fifth annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest yesterday?…
Posted inFun Statistics
World Cup Statistics and Predictions for the Final
A prediction (made on Monday, 28 June) verified: Although---and this has nothing to do with the issue at hand---Argentina's goaltender Sergio Romero stinks, and that's putting it nicely. Every shot…
Posted inStatistics
FBI Homicide Statistics: What Are You Most Likely To Be Killed With?
It's the start of a long weekend and the time for a diversion. It's the fourth of July weekend and our lesson is: if you older than 50, beware strangers…
Posted inStatistics
Siena Presidential Scholar President Rankings: Are They Biased?
The Siena Research Institute asked 238 presidential scholars to rank each president from 1 (best) to worst (43) in nineteen different categories, plus one overall ranking. A complete list of…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
In Defense of Dogmatism
In so far as I have a coherent philosophy of statistics, I hope it is "robust" enough to cope in principle with the whole of statistics, and sufficiently undogmatic not…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Tricky Probability Problem: Chance of Two Sons, One Born on Tuesday?
Thanks to reader Matt Lewis who sent me this link. Martin Gardner, may he rest in peace, gave us a delicious probability problem: Suppose that Mrs Smith has two children,…