Tuesday, March 24, 2009

What is a triple-blinded, completely randomized case-control clinical drug trial?

One in which the patients do not know which drug treatment they are receiving, the nurses do not know which drug treatment they are administering, and the physicians conducting the study do not know what they are doing!!!



Statistics play an important role in genetics. For instance, statistics prove that numbers of offspring is an inherited trait. If your parents didn't have any kids, odds are you won't either. (ba-dump-dum) :)



Reference

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Economy

Don't kid yourself. The deep recession of 2008-09 is really a depression.
Then to witness business guests clapping at the close of the NY Stock Exchange at the podium every single day is like statisticians clapping for nonsignificant results on hypotheisis tests!

reference

Quiz Day

Professor: "OK students, you have fifteen minutes to plot the bivariate distribution between A and B, fifteen minutes to compute the correlation between A and B, and 5 SECONDS to compute the kurtosis of B."

One student stands up very worried: "Excuse me Professor, how can we posssibly compute a kurtosis in 5 SECONDS?"

The Professor looks at the class very reassuring: "No need to be worried, kids, IT TAKES ONLY A MOMENT!!"

reference

Monday, February 16, 2009

TEACHER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK, NY - A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a box of plastic pocket protectors, and a graphing calculator.

In a morning press conference,the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of a spinoff group, St. Atistic, of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. He also revealed that the situation was extremely tense and touch-and-go for a short time since the plastic protectors were discovered half-melted.

"Al-Gebra and particularly St. Atistic are problems for us," the Attorney said. "They recruit mean deviants who are then well trained in the use of multiple modes to search out an absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are three sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, the President said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes." White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President.


reference

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Normal Curve Fiasco

Every semester that I teach the normal curve I emphasize on its importance to the rest of the class. I even discuss how one can "check" to see if their answer makes sense if they draw the right picture to begin with. So how is it that the following things have happened?

1. The probability of it taking longer than 25 minutes for the allergy medicine to work is 1.24?

2. The probablility of it taking between 15 and 20 minutes is -0.3214?

3. If the mean is 18, how is the 60th percentile 12.5, or better yet, 0.60?

4. Since I am an outlier, the claim is okay?

5. You did better on the second exam because you were CLOSER to the mean (as compared to being HIGHER than the mean).


I guess if I understood how these things happened, I would get a big teaching reward for solving these mistakes :)

Monday, February 9, 2009

The Final Exam

A statistics major was completely hung over the day of his final exam. It was a true/false test, so he decided to flip a coin for the answers. The statistics professor watched the student the entire two hours as he was flipping the coin... writing the answer... flipping the coin... writing the answer. At the end of the two hours, everyone else had left the final except for the one student. The professor walks up to his desk and interrupts the student, saying, "Listen, I have seen that you did not study for this statistics test, you didn't even open the exam. If you are just flipping a coin for your answer, what is taking you so long?"
The student replies bitterly (as he is still flipping the coin), "Shhh! I am checking my answers!"



reference

Friday, February 6, 2009

Success Bell Curve

At age 5 success is not peeing in your pants

At age 10 success is having friends in many many places

At age 16 success is having a driver's license and no moving violations

At age 20 success is having sex but harboring a variety of anxieties about it

At age 35 success is having money to pay cash for a turbocharged Porsche Carrera GT

At age 50 success is having money to pay cash for a turbocharged Porsche Carrera GT

At age 65 success is having sex but harboring a variety of anxieties about it

At age 70 success is having a driver's license and no moving violations

At age 75 success is having friends in many many places

At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants