What's Behind the Numbers – Viewing Statistics with a Critical Eye
with Michael Legacy
How often do people throw out statistics to bludgeon an opposing view and to support their side of an argument? How often do others look at the same set of data and arrive at fundamentally opposite conclusions? Using and reacting to data effectively is a large and growing part of everyday life and work, making it increasingly important to understand the basics of statistics, the science of learning from data.
Topics we’ll examine include: how polls are conducted and why it matters; why hormone replacement studies a decade apart arrived at opposite conclusions; how the media, politicians, and activists interpret numbers to their advantage; what are the sources of bad statistics; and what methods are used to mangle numbers.
Sessions: Five, 90-minute sessions
When: Tuesdays, February 24; March 3, 10, 24 & 31
Time: 6:30–8:00 pm
Tuition: $170, if postmarked by 12/12/08;
$200, if postmarked by 1/19/09
Michael Legacy has taught statistics for the past 19 years, and Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics since 1997. From 2001 to 2005, he served on the AP Statistics Development Committee, which writes the annual AP exam. In 2006, he published Prep for the AP Exam Guide, the companion to the third edition of the popular textbook, The Practice of Statistics, by Yates, Moore, and Starnes. Michael also authored The Teacher’s Guide for AP Statistics, which was published by the College Board in August 2008. He is the chair of the department of mathematics at Greenhill.
For questions, contact Christine Eastus at afterdark@greenhill.org, or by phone at (972) 628-5441.