Statistics and Probabilities The first day of Management 368, the class was informed that this course was comprised of two parts: basic math and common sense. Yet, many students – including me – find this class challenging. How can this be? A possible answer is that much of what one learns is conveyed to us through 24/7 news and/or friends and family. This possibly bias information, depending on the source, requires very little thinking on our part, if none at all, especially if we “trust” the source. The study of statistics and probabilities can help one to make their own reasonable and sound decisions; I am just beginning to learn how to use these “math tools” on a personal level. Considering that math appears to be a huge part of everyday living, knowing how to use all forms of math (arithmetic, algebra, and statistics) can help one to save money. Some examples include weekly tasks such as: fueling up vehicles (miles per gallon, city or highway driving and overall price); buying groceries (what is unit pricing and is that coupon really saving me money?); or, reading a newspaper (what is that financial chart and why doesn’t the “corner of the axis” start at 0?). Learning about statistics can help one to understand …show more content…
Levitin. The book itself is helpful with various topics discussed in this specific class, but this quote is of particular interest: “We are a storytelling species and easily swayed by the opinions of others. We have three ways to acquire information: We can discover it ourselves, we can absorb it implicitly, or we can be told it explicitly. Critical thinking is not something you do once with an issue and then drop it. It’s an active and ongoing process.” This is a possible answer as to why this statistics course is difficult for many students. It requires a shift in thinking from pure computational to both conceptual and computational