While nothing is more uncertain than the duration of a single life, nothing is more certain than the average duration of a thousand lives. A quote of American actuary and abolitionist Elizur Wright (1804 - 1885).
I don't see the logic of rejecting data just because they seem incredible. A quote of British Astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle (1915 - 2001) found in "Statistically Speaking - A Dictionary of Quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither (IOP publishing, 1996) p. 150.
The plural of anecdote is not data. Attributed to American economist Roger E. Brinner in the on-line list of quotes at www.keypress.com/fathom/fathom1/quotes.html
... statistics - whatever their mathematical sophistication and elegance - cannot make bad variables into good ones. Quoted from "Analysis of Nominal Data" by H.T. Reynolds (Sage, 1984) p. 8
That's not an experiment you have there, that's an experience. Ronald A. Fisher (1890-1962.) Quoted in "Statistics", third edition, by David Freedman, Robert Pisani, and Roger Purves (Norton, 1998)
Song is simply a quick jingle to help students recall the conceptual interpretation of a standard score (or, z-score), which in turn should help make sense of the formula. May be sung to tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Recorded June 26, 2009 at the OSU Whisper Room: Larry Lesser, vocals/guitar; Justin Slauson, engineer.
My life is an experiment I never had a chance to properly design. The quote is from American statistical consultant Diana Ballard and is also referenced as joke #74 on Gary Remseyer's First Internet Gallery of Statistics Jokes
The song summarizes the controversy about statistically adjusting the United States decennial census for undercount. May be sung to the tune of "Annie's Song" (John Denver). Appeared in Autumn 2001 "Teaching Statistics" and Winter 2002 "STATS". Recorded June 26, 2009 at the OSU Whisper Room: Larry Lesser, vocals/guitar; Justin Slauson, engineer.
Song encourages critical thinking about how surveys are conducted and presented in the media. Published at www.tomsnyder.com/products/productextras/SCISCI/statisticslyrics.html
