On Thu, 2003-12-11 at 16:09, David Ziggy Lubowa wrote: > [quote] > > Bayesian" mathematical principles which essentially are the idea that > the probability of future events can be calculated by studying their > prior frequency. Because Bayesian models are based on data collected > from experience, the more data obtained, the better the predictions, > and if the data changes, the results correct themselves. > > [/quote]
There is another statistical technique called survival analysis that also does something about predicting future events. Using it, you can find out what the effect of say, not smoking, will do to your survival by comparing the effects of people with that factor to the general group. I run into it while on a project to create a frontend to a demographic database in Ghana, with data accumulated over the past ten years. It appears to be a whole field in itself ... http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/stsurvan.html http://www.r-project.org (GPLed statistical language and libraries) -- G. --------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
