If you put 57 random people in a room it turns out, you can predict with 99% certainty that 2 of them will have the same exact birthday.
To most, this seems counterintuitive...and wrong.
But mathematically, it's absolutely right. This is why statistics is so important. It turns out human beings make cognitive errors all the time when looking at the world, especially when trying to see patterns, are trying to determine causality. In a world where we're required to make important decisions based on massive amounts of data, we can't just "eyeball" it.
You don't have to be a master in statistics, but you at least have to understand that it exists. And then you need to find someone (or a machine) who does understand it to help...or suffer the painful (but often silent) consequences.
That's true though. The key in understanding anything mathematics and statistics related is to first learn the primary principles. I've always had a trouble of visualizing data and analyzing numbers. I wish I had a better appreciation of math when I was younger.
Posted by: Virtual Agent | 01/06/2011 at 04:50 PM
This is pretty cool :) Got me thinking .. nd exploring the maths behind the fact you stated!
Thanks for the post!
Posted by: saurabh | 01/06/2011 at 11:20 PM
As much as i hate numbers in general and stats in particular, this is an excellent post. And its time i change :-)
Posted by: Deepthi Nair | 01/07/2011 at 12:33 AM