Spring Seminar Series - February 2, 2006
University of Minnesota
School of Statistics
College of Liberal Arts

How to Talk About Statistics with Smart People Who Don't Know the Difference Between an Oddfellow and an Odds Ratio

Sanford Weisberg
School of Statistics
University of Minnesota

Thursday, February 2, 2006
3:30 PM, 115 Ford Hall
Minneapolis, East Bank Campus
Social at 3:00 PM, 300 Ford Hall

Abstract

Statisticians, and other technically trained people, have an obligation to communicate their unique knowledge to people without the same abilities or training. In this talk, I will discuss the lives of some people who have done this well. I will also comment on my experiences in these realm, drawn mostly from my consulting experience with university researchers, with government bureaucrats, and lawyers. This talk is intended primarily for students, but others might find it amusing as well.