While I was attending the Teaching Institute at APS, I attended Wind Goodfriend's talk about using case studies in the classroom.
Which got me thinking about fun case studies for statistics. But not, like, the classic story about Guinness Brewery and the t-test. I want case studies that feature a regular person in a regular job who used their personal expertise to deduce from data to do something great. An example popped into my head while I was walking my dog and listening to the Hamilton soundtrack: Hercules Mulligan.
He was a spy for America during the American Revolution. He was a tailor and did a lot of work for British military officers. This gave him access to data that he shared through a spy network to infer the timing of British military operations.
Here is a better summary, from the CIA:
I like this example because he wasn't George Washington. And he wasn't Alexander Hamilton. He had this seemingly innocuous job, but he knew his profession well, and he was smart. He was able to see patterns in the information and turn them into valuable information. He made the decision to use that knowledge to aid the American Revolution (it should also be noted that his slave DID NOT make a choice to risk his life).
Similarly, I believe we should be teaching our students to be the best <insert dream job here> they can be, with the understanding that they will benefit from statistical reasoning skills and the ability to detect patterns that no one else can see.
Or, if you want to here Hercules Mulligan via Lin-Manuel Miranda, go to 2:40 on this video. Aside: Hercules Mulligan's solo in The Battle of Yorktown is my favorite rally song. I am working on having the swagger of Herc.
Which got me thinking about fun case studies for statistics. But not, like, the classic story about Guinness Brewery and the t-test. I want case studies that feature a regular person in a regular job who used their personal expertise to deduce from data to do something great. An example popped into my head while I was walking my dog and listening to the Hamilton soundtrack: Hercules Mulligan.
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| Okieriete Onaodowan, portraying Hercules Mulligan in Hamilton |
Here is a better summary, from the CIA:
I like this example because he wasn't George Washington. And he wasn't Alexander Hamilton. He had this seemingly innocuous job, but he knew his profession well, and he was smart. He was able to see patterns in the information and turn them into valuable information. He made the decision to use that knowledge to aid the American Revolution (it should also be noted that his slave DID NOT make a choice to risk his life).
Similarly, I believe we should be teaching our students to be the best <insert dream job here> they can be, with the understanding that they will benefit from statistical reasoning skills and the ability to detect patterns that no one else can see.
Or, if you want to here Hercules Mulligan via Lin-Manuel Miranda, go to 2:40 on this video. Aside: Hercules Mulligan's solo in The Battle of Yorktown is my favorite rally song. I am working on having the swagger of Herc.