Math Is Fun Forum
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#1 2011-05-20 22:57:49
- studymaths
- Member
- Registered: 2010-04-11
- Posts: 32
Shocking statistic..
"50% of universities are below average according to a recent survey."
This wasn't meant to be a joke, it was actually reported on the news!
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#2 2011-05-21 00:52:42
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Hi studymaths;
It is not shocking, just expected. Over here we even have a phrase for it. They call it the "dumbing down of America." They have been very successful so it is just natural that they would want to expand their results to other countries.
Glad I was immune to it. I mean how could they dumb me down? I was never in school. I sure showed them!
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#3 2011-05-21 09:06:00
- studymaths
- Member
- Registered: 2010-04-11
- Posts: 32
Re: Shocking statistic..
I am impressed my your intelligence from reading posts on this forum. Did you really never attend school?!
I told my class about the headline to see if they understood the error the news team had made. They got it eventually.
I then explained to them that the average person on the planet has less than two legs 
Regards,
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#4 2011-05-21 13:30:14
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Did you really never attend school?!
Based on my results I wonder if I ever was there at all. Because I am a person, I can easily prove that the average person on the planet has less than one brain.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#5 2011-05-22 21:25:55
- Tigeree
- Member
- Registered: 2005-11-19
- Posts: 13,883
Re: Shocking statistic..
Are you serious?
And to think I went to an Open Day today. And it seemed like such a nice place. They gave me free food.
People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
~ Anton Chekhov
Cheer up, emo kid.
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#6 2011-05-22 22:27:21
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Oh, I see what you are saying, yes, I am very serious.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#7 2011-05-25 03:53:18
- soroban
- Member
- Registered: 2007-03-09
- Posts: 452
Re: Shocking statistic..
.
. .
.
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#8 2013-12-01 06:41:11
Re: Shocking statistic..
bobbym, I hope you do get the humor
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#9 2013-12-01 06:43:02
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
What humor did I miss?
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#10 2013-12-01 06:49:56
Re: Shocking statistic..
The average of some data cannot be less than half of it
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#11 2013-12-01 06:52:02
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
That is not the point. I said I could prove that humanity had on the average less than 1 brain. That is humor.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#12 2013-12-01 06:53:52
Re: Shocking statistic..
Okay, prove it. I'll post a couple of questions in Help Me the next morning
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#13 2013-12-01 06:58:43
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Post #4 proves it most elegantly.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#14 2013-12-05 20:41:23
- happyday
- Member
- Registered: 2013-12-05
- Posts: 2
Re: Shocking statistic..
Maybe it's me (or some language thing ..), but i don't see an error in the initial post 
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#15 2013-12-06 00:24:03
Re: Shocking statistic..
How is it possible that half of the data is less than its mean?
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#16 2013-12-06 00:28:59
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
I like this one:
Did you hear about the statistician who took the Dale Carnegie course? He improved his confidence level from .95 to .99.
or
97.3% of all statistics are made up.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#17 2013-12-06 01:55:37
- anonimnystefy
- Real Member
- From: Harlan's World
- Registered: 2011-05-23
- Posts: 16,049
Re: Shocking statistic..
How is it possible that half of the data is less than its mean?
{1,2,3,4}.
Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.
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#18 2013-12-06 02:29:35
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Hi;
Look at {1,2,3,10}. 3 / 4's of the data is below the mean.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#19 2013-12-06 03:38:56
Re: Shocking statistic..
Ok 
Then why is this a joke?
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#20 2013-12-06 03:58:10
- anonimnystefy
- Real Member
- From: Harlan's World
- Registered: 2011-05-23
- Posts: 16,049
Re: Shocking statistic..
The joke works only if by average you mean median.
Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.
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#21 2013-12-06 04:23:09
Re: Shocking statistic..
Or mode
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#22 2013-12-06 05:11:18
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Shocking statistic..
Or if you understand what those terms mean.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#23 2013-12-06 05:16:07
- anonimnystefy
- Real Member
- From: Harlan's World
- Registered: 2011-05-23
- Posts: 16,049
Re: Shocking statistic..
Or mode
Not quite.
Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.
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#24 2013-12-06 09:16:27
- happyday
- Member
- Registered: 2013-12-05
- Posts: 2
Re: Shocking statistic..
The joke works only if by average you mean median.
Ah i see. guess someone might find that funny.
Median never came to my mind as a translation .. 
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