Khar's Rambles

Hi guys!

Originally posted here. This is the truncated version to fit into the blog word limit.

Since I'm sure not many people are interested in the second, far more rambly bit, I'm only taking over the discussion-esque bit to my blog! If anyone is interested in discussing it in the forum, this is the only bit I really want people to respond to -- the rest is just there for background in case people are interested!

I'd appreciate any responses or thoughts on it!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Khar

Please note, the only bit that I’d ask you to read is the Introduction. All else is just extraneous information for the specifically interested parties in the audience!

Introduction:

A few days ago, I and a handful of my colleagues were standing around at the end of the day discussing various things, and ended up on the topic of statistics. We all come from a pretty broad background – oncology, economics, law, engineering, and so forth. One thing we all agree on, however, is the incredible importance of the knowledge with statistics. Whether it’s reading academic papers or being the target of a marketing campaign, it’s become an increasingly important part of everyday life. The mass majority of science, social science, engineering and professional degrees require a fair amount of aptitude with it, and all people benefit from being skilled with statistics.

However, I do not feel that we are making a solid enough effort to convey the importance of statistics in modern day society, especially in secondary education where many people are first introduced to statistics. Concepts like the null hypothesis, regressions, or even more basic theories are not discussed or barely touched on. Students tend to be uninterested or discouraged when learning about statistics, and the courses are not necessarily well designed (I will discuss this more in the second section, for anyone interested, but do not feel pressured to read it!). This seems to severely limit the capacity of students to take part in debates and discussions in realistic settings unless they take it upon themselves to learn more, in my opinion.

It’s also my opinion that statistics should play a larger role in the general education of the population of many of our countries, perhaps as a greater part of the secondary school mathematics curriculum than it currently is. Students should begin earlier, and be given a more positive view on the importance and real life applications of statistics and statistical thinking. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree, and why?

Thanks to all for reading!

You do not need to read past here unless specifically interested in some academic discussion on the topic.