Skip to 0 minutes and 5 seconds Way back in a previous century, I moved out of my university dormitory and into a flat, where, horror of horrors, I was expected to cook. My mother– bless her soul– supported this new adventure by getting me something called the Campus Survival Cookbook. This little masterpiece introduced me to advanced culinary techniques such as washing hands before cooking. Closing the oven door during cooking. And cleaning up after cooking. As you can see, I survived the ordeal. Although, only until now, when the question shifts to how many of us can survive the bewildering barrage of numerical claims and counterclaims that assault us on a daily basis in the modern world? In fact, some of these numbers are worse than just confusing.
Skip to 0 minutes and 51 seconds Often, they’re willfully diabolical, specifically created to lead us astray. This course will make you savvy and smart about numbers. But it’s not about statistical techniques. There are many good courses out there for that. This course is about not getting fooled by numbers. We look at common tricks for either exaggerating or downplaying the sizes of numbers. We’ll cover the perils and pitfalls, as well as the positive potential for public opinion surveys and election prediction. And we’ll examine the special issues that arise when we confront rare events– for example, when we try to predict terrorist attacks. Or to react to a positive HIV test. Together, we’ll unleash your common sense. And we’ll have a whale of a time along the way.
Skip to 1 minute and 43 seconds Join me for survival statistics– secrets for demystifying numbers.
