Disclaimer: I don’t condone gambling, so don’t take my use of the second person literally! For a lot of things that I’m interested in writing about, understanding odds is fundamental. Since I’m not presently interested in writing about any of those topics I’m interested in writing about, I’ll give you the low-down on the basics … Continue reading »
Kicking Field Goals to Explain How to Make Money in the Lottery
You often hear people say that playing the lottery isn’t a good idea or that you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the jackpot. But why does that matter? If you’re never outside during a lightning storm, wouldn’t you always be protected. If you buy two lottery tickets, aren’t you twice … Continue reading »
Install R
R is a programming language that’s build for statistical analysis and graphics. I’m going to use it a lot in various posts on this site, so I want you to be able to follow along if you’re so inclined. There’s a little bit of a learning curve to it, but it’s a really powerful engine … Continue reading »
A Quick Reflection on Projecting the Election and Why Nate Silver is Not a Witch
Leading up to the election, Nate Silver, author of the FiveThirtyEight blog on the New York Times website, projected that Barack Obama would win the election with around a 80.1% probability. He also accurately predicted the outcome of all 50 states (yes, including Florida!), making his projection of the final electoral vote accurate as well. … Continue reading »
