Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I'm Alive

I just took a test. I would liken it unto being thrown into a pit of ravenous lions, expecting to die. Yet somehow, miraculously, you come out the other end alive. Sure you might be a little scratched and beaten, but you're alive. I survived it. I've been given the gift of life.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Assumptions

In Statistics, we assume things. We have to. But we do our best to make sure those assumptions are justified before moving forward with our work. I've recently found that checking assumptions is also important for life. For instance, we often assume when we sit down in a public restroom that there is toilet paper in the toilet paper dispenser. Few of us ever check this assumption before we proceed. Generally, this doesn't cause any problems. But every so often we find that our initial assumption was wrong, and the result isn't pretty. If you've never had to do the Stall-to-Stall-Shuffle, I feel sorry for you; you're missing out on a great life lesson.