Canvas
Donate
Let's Talk!
Probability and Statistics Made Interesting 2nd Edition
By Michael Orkin
Probability and Statistics Made Interesting 2nd Edition is a basic statistics text that’s interesting to both professors and students. Here are some examples: Using p-values to test whether a fortune-teller has psychic powers. Testing whether someone is accident prone. Testing whether a new vaccine is effective. Probability is introduced with a discussion about lotteries and casino games like craps and roulette. Bayes’ Rule illustrates resemblance stereotyping with an example from Daniel Kahneman’s book, “Thinking Fast, and Slow.” Correlation and regression are demonstrated by comparing the weight of a newborn and how much the mother smoked during pregnancy. Some other topics: What is the “margin of error” in opinion polls? How can you tell the difference between luck and skill? What’s the chance of being struck by lightning? Why correlation is not causation. Why the half-life of a medication is not linear.
No more graphing calculators! Probability and Statistics Made Interesting uses Excel and Google Sheets for calculations. Not only is spreadsheet software free, but students use it in other courses and the workplace after graduation.
As a professor, consultant, researcher, and author, Dr. Mike Orkin has a breadth of experience that gives him insight into probability and statistics, both theoretically and practically.
