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Posts about general science topics.
Math Esteem
November 7th, 2006 | No Comments
Rate Your Students is one of my new guilty pleasures. Today’s entry reminded me of this Washington Post article reporting a study of math achievement and self-esteem.
Apparently people in higher-achieving math countries have lower self-esteem, among other things. Conclusion: school doesn’t have to be fun or empowering!
Personally, I think this study is to education what Froot Loops are to breakfast.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
September 27th, 2006 | 1 Comment
I just read an interesting article on Slate regarding the use of statistics in medicine.
I took a class last semester in which we read a number of papers from medical journals instead of psychology journals like we usually do. The different ways in which statistics get used in the two fields was really striking.
Too Bad Numbers Isn’t a Book About Logic
November 12th, 2005 | No Comments
Oh, Pat Robertson. There you go, shooting off your fool mouth again. The man is supposedly a lawyer and he can’t recognize a logical fallacy when he utters one.
That would be the fallacy of the False Dilemma, also known as the False Dichotomy. Unless those eight Dover school board members were officers that were personally selected, installed, and maintained by God, voting them out of office does not necessarily constitute a rejection of God. More likely, it counts as an act of common sense.
