Archive for November 2010

Pretty Pictures [vs|and|or] Hard Models

It is a common theme when statisticians look at data visualization output – they ask for the model. Although I am usually not an unconditional friend of building models (especially before you understand the data), but I feel the need for some kind of model in order to make this visualization more than just a […]

Off Topic(?)
Increased Internet Usage and Social Isolation

The study by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society (SIQSS) has its 10th anniversary now as I stumbled over a new study by the German ifo-Institut, looking into the same topic a decade later. The SIQSS study states: – Internet isolates people – Internet allows work to intrude into home – Internet […]

Stat Computing Visions from the Past

I recently stumbled upon an old paper of a presentation I gave at the Interface conference in 1998, entitled “JAVA – the next Generation of Statistical Computing?”: It is very interesting to compare the things I envisioned 12 years ago and what actually came true. Here are some topics: Did Java change a whole lot […]

Ranks or … whatever

The last Good & Bad post already dealt with using ranks and certain related problems, but the thing Udo pointed me to is really of extraordinary absurdity. The Daily Mail has a feature about the most popular names: The problem is already explained in the footnote such that I don’t need to comment any further […]