Statistics should be fun. Well, maybe not as fun as a Ferris wheel but still…
Actually, a Ferris wheel might be a good analogy. It can be big, seem overwhelming, move rapidly and still be significantly enjoyable. So is statistics.
Statistics is a large field of study. It encompasses everything from political polls to rating scales to actuarial tables to business, education and scientific research. Many people use statistics as part of their job.
It also can seem overwhelming. Most people don’t spend a lot of time with formulas, numbers and data tables. Learning the vocabulary alone can be daunting. Then there’s the calculations. Fortunately, we have computers to do the heavy crunching, but getting used to working with numbers can take some doing.
Many classes in statistics move quickly. Even textbooks often only state a formula or theorem once. That’s one of the advantages of this site: we can take our time with the material. You can proceed at your own pace.
And, although you probably won’t become a researcher or professional statistician, I think you will gain an appreciation for how hard it is to get answers. If research was easy, it would already have been done. So it takes skill, creativity and luck to get some partial answers to the most difficult problems we face. But I think you’ll be pleased with your progress and success. And maybe the process will even be enjoyable. We’ll sure try to make it so.
Photo by Hannah Morgan on Unsplash
