That was why statistics had to be invented - because people were so unstable and irrational, taken one at a time. A quote of American science fiction author Raymond F. Jones (1915 - 1994) found in his 1956 short story "The Non-Statistical Man". The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.
... we must remember that measures were made for man and not man for measures. a quote of popular science and science fiction author Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992) in "Of Time and Space and Other Things" page 143, Avon Books, 1965. The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.
Chance is only the measure of our ignorance. A quote from French mathematician and physicist Jules Henri Poincare (1854 - 1912) found in "The Foundations of Science", page 395, The Science Press, 1913. The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.
The words 'model' and 'mode' have, indeed, the same root; today, model building is science a la mode. Quote of american philosopher Abraham Kaplan (1918-1993) appearing in "The Conduct of Inquiry" (Chandler, 1964) p. 258. Also to be found in "Statistically Speaking the dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither p. 140
A cartoon to teach about ambiguous reporting of survey information. Cartoon by John Landers (www.landers.co.uk) based on an idea from Dennis Pearl (The Ohio State University). Free to use in the classroom and on course web sites.
If you can't measure it, I'm not interested. A quote by Canadian educator and management theorist Laurence Johnston Peter (1919 - 1990) from "Peter's People" in "Human Behavior" (August, 1976; page 9). The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.
Normality is a myth; there never has, and never will be, a normal distribution. A quote by Irish statistician and econometrician Roy C. Geary (1896 - 1983) found in "Biometrika" volume 34, 1947, page 241.
Statistically Speaking is a 5 minute 35 second video that can be used in discussing various concepts in descriptive statistics. The video was written, directed, and produced by Cameron W. Hatch and the cast includes (order of appearance) Mala Grewal, Sally Atkinson, Griffin Hatch, Jeff Hatch, Matt Burnham, and Sylvia Burnham.
In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind. A quote from French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) given at a lecture at University of Lille on December 7, 1854.
November 23, 2010 Activity Webinar presented by Stacey Hancock, Reed College, Jennifer Noll, Portland State University, Sean Simpson, Westchester Community College, and Aaron Weinberg, Ithaca College, and hosted by Leigh Slauson, Capital University. Extra materials available for download free of charge. Many instructors ask students to demonstrate the frequentist notion of probability using a simulation early in an intro stats course. Typically, the simulation involves dice or coins, which give equal (and known) probabilities. How about a simulation involving an unknown probability? This webinar discusses an experiment involving rolling (unbalanced) pigs. Since the probabilities are not equal, this experiment also allows the instructor to have students think about the concept of fairness within games.