Herman Rubin wrote: > > In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > Jerry Dallal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Herman Rubin wrote: > > >> If you, and your students, want to understand statistics, > >> do not start them out with ANY statistical procedures > >> until they understand probability (NOT how to calculate > >> probabilities) as well as evaluation of consequences and > >> probability modeling. > > >For some unknown reason, today it struck me that if students > >*really* understood probability, there would be a period not > >survived by many that would begin with their asking, "Well, then, > >why go on?" > > In a sense you can say that this is correct; if someone in > another field understands probability, probability modeling, > and the evaluation of consequences, a properly formulated > problem needs nothing more than calculation, assuming that > it is known how to calculate for that problem.
In truth, I was seeing the cup as half-empty rather than half-full. My concern was that seeing how approximate probability models often are, one might be tempted to abandon statistical methods entirely! . . ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: . http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . =================================================================
