Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life
This chapter taught me the importance of understanding statistical data and how to evaluate it with common sense. Almost everyday we are subjected to statistical data in newspapers and on TV. My usual reaction was to accept those statistics as being valid. Which I think is a fair assessment for most people. However, reading this chapter opens my eyes to the fact that statistical data can be very misleading. It shows how data can be skewed to support a certain group’s agenda. Although most statistical data presented may not seem to affect us personally in our daily lives, it can however have an impact. For example, statistics can influence the way people vote on certain issues.
In evaluating statistical data one thing to consider is the measure that is used. By understanding the different statistical measurement tools and how they differ from one another, it is possible to judge whether a statistical graph can be accepted at face value. A good example is using the mean to depict averages. This was demonstrated by using the mean as a measure of determining the distribution of incomes. The mean income depicted was, $70,000 per year. At face value, it looks as though the sample population enjoys a rather high income. However, upon seeing individual salaries, it becomes obvious that only a few salaries are responsible for the high average income as depicted by the mean. The majority of the salaries were well under the $70,000 average. Therefore, the mean distributed income of $70,000 was at best misleading. By also looking at the median and mode measures of the income distributions, one has a clearer picture of the actual income distributions. Because this data contained extreme values, a standard deviation curve would have given better representation of salary distribution and would have highlighted the salaries at the high level and how they skewed the mean value.
Another important concept outlined in this chapter is the correlation coefficient. The importance of this is being able to understand to what extent two things actually relate to each other. By having this awareness, we are better able to understand and function in the world we live in.
I learned some key factors in making the determination whether statistical data is reliable: Consider the population sample and if it is representative of the inferences that the data is claiming.
CQ Researcher published the article. They are an authority with where they stand in the world; meaning they are very informational and helpful. It is scholarly reviewed. By comparing it to my other sources, this source has more information and helps a lot more than the rest of my sources. The article is objective and informational. The goal of this article is to inform people on the statistics and how we can help lower the numbers.
That alone provides a great source of credibility to the paper. The idea that this is an author who has done the research, gathered the numbers, and analyzed the data, allows the reader to rest in the idea that they are reading a valid article, and receiving good, hard, evidence. Twenge also uses a very logical tone throughout her article, maintaining the idea that the data is as clear as day, and that there is no disproving it; the numbers show true facts.
Another example of a figurative mockingbird in the story is Boo radley. Boo Radley was always the one lurking in the shadow, people thought of him as a bad person because of the rumors of him “stabbing” his dad and never coming out of the house after that. People thought he was crazy and dangerous, and every kid who passed by the Radley house would run in fear. They people of Maycomb even nicknamed him “boo” because they looked at him as a ghost, but in reality his name is Arthur and he the main sign of innocence in the book. Arthur never came out until the end of the book but he always found a way to show people he was there. He would leave Jem and scout presents under their special tree like string, dolls, gum, and things they enjoy.
Frederick II died in 1588 and his son Christian IV took over as king. Brahe
The final chapter of this book encourages people to be critical when taking in statistics. Someone taking a critical approach to statistics tries assessing statistics by asking questions and researching the origins of a statistic when that information is not provided. The book ends by encouraging readers to know the limitations of statistics and understand how statistics are
The first, human Mockingbird in this book is Atticus Finch. First and foremost, Atticus was always willing to do the right thing. When Atticus took Tom’s case he knew he was going to lose but that didn’t stop him. He tried to do everything in his power to save Tom even if that meant putting himself in harm's way. One example of Atticus being a Mockingbird, was when he knew that some of the folks in town were
Prussia rose to power in the late 1600s. Prussia’s ruling family, the Hohenzollerns, also had ambitions. Those ambitions threatened to upset central Europe’s delicate balance of power. The Hohenzollerns built their state from a number of small holdings, beginning with the German cities of Brandenburg and Prussia. In 1640, a 20-year-old Hohenzollern named Frederick William inherited the title of elector of Brandenburg. Frederick William decided that having a strong army was the only way to ensure safety, after seeing the destruction of the Thirty Years’ War. To protect their lands, the Great Elector and his descendants moved toward absolute monarchy.
Tom Robinson, an innocent man, Jem & Scout, innocent minded children growing up and learning the ways of life, and a Mockingbird of pure innocence. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird she portrays the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence. Harper Lee, tells the story through a child’s eyes to show the growth and loss of innocence throughout the story. As well as the loss of innocence in the case of Tom Robinson, overall creating the idea that, innocence is lost throughout the trials of life.
The first mockingbird being discussed is Boo Radley. “It’d be sorta like shooting a mockingbird wouldn’t it?” (Pg. 370)Boo Radley is a mockingbird because he’s been judged by everyone in the town his whole life. He has been rumored about without anyone actually knowing him. Boo acts as Scout and Jem’s guardian angel. He watches over them to keep them safe and out of trouble. With him being so innocent and caring supports the fact of him being considered a mockingbird.
“There’s nothing boring about statistics”, as said by Professor Hans Rosling in which I do agree with. Data and statistics surrounds us, whether we realize it or not, statistics helps us understand what is going on within the world around us. It helps us understand if the things we think or believe are actually true. I use statistics on a daily basis from school to work or even social media marketing. Hans Rosling has opened by eyes even more to how it can be used in ways I’ve never thought.
Quantitative methods in the social sciences are an effective tool for understanding patterns and variation in social data. They are the systematic, numeric collection and objective analysis of data that can be generalized to a larger population and seek to find cause in variance (Matthews and Ross 2010, p.141; Henn et al. 2009, p.134). These methods are often debated, but quantitative measurement is important to the social sciences because of the numeric evidence that can be used to drive more in depth qualitative research and to focus regional policy, to name a few (Johnston et al. 2014). Basic quantitative methods, such as descriptive and inferential statistics, are used regularly to identify and explain large social trends that can then
Everyone knew what mockingbirds meant in the old times. Everyone knew what they meant. Mockingbirds are meant to be a source of peace and innocence. Mockingbirds are expected to be a source of peace as they don’t interfere with the lives of many peaceful people that want to enjoy their precious lives. When Atticus says that, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” (Lee, 119), questions are inquired. Who is the mockingbird, and what influence does it have? Mockingbirds are peaceful, and if you kill one, the peace gets terminated and scarce. In the story Tom Robinson is the mockingbird, an innocent Negro, and is the victim of the jury as his peace is taken away due to the opponents’ opinions. Therefore, Tom Robinson is the mockingbird that gets killed affecting the society in a very particular way.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the novel penned by an acclaimed author Harper Lee. It researches the matters of race and class in the 1930’s. Scout Finch who is the main character, shares her views on situations around her.
The mockingbird, a harmless creature that does nothing to hurt anyone, sings songs to bring joy to everyone. Killing one, is an act of cruelty, as the mockingbird does nothing but invoke happiness. In the story the slave, Tom Robinson, devotes his life to serving his master and providing for his own family. He can be seen as a mockingbird, singing his song. Society can be seen as the killer of the mockingbird. In particular, Bob Ewell is the man responsible for wanting to kill the bird as he is the man who claims Robinson raped the young girl. Along with Ewell the other members of the community set out to destroy Robinson with no evidence that the allegations were true. Also, the childlike innocence seen in Scout can be used to associate her with the mockingbird. Having never done anything with evil intentions, Scout sees the world as an equal place because of what her dad taught her. As she matures her eyes open to the meaning behind the cruel words and deeds of society. It finally registers that people aspire to hurt her because she doesn’t conform to society’s norm. She too can be seen as a mockingbird, being destroyed by society. The novel provokes soul searching that causes the reader to examine their own lives and to examine their own role in society. Are they killing mockingbirds themselves? Does the reader live in their own society not paying mind to what effect they have on others? The novel is subtle, but charges the reader to examine their behavior. The novel can also be seen as a challenge to live life as the mocking, bird making sure you do no harm to
During the first half of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee constructs a sweet and affectionate portrait of rowing up in the world of small town Alabama. Harper Lee, however, continues on to dig underneath the portrayal of small town courtesy in the second half of the book. None of the characters in the book are perfect. This begins to show through in the second half of the book when the facade is removed to reveal the ugliness of Maycomb and the people living there. Through these tough times though, one character manages to keep his cool. Atticus Finch, through all the struggles and pressure, stands strong as a very positive father figure, making sure to instill in his children three very specific values: education, bravery, and acceptance.