The Unseen Side of Statistics

I've always had an affinity for analytics, even before I knew what it was. Much like a gambler thrives on uncertainty and probability, I unknowingly embraced statistics from an early age. Despite studying civil engineering, my passion for some subjects was dimmed, perhaps due to the teaching methods and my limited interest. Yet, when I was good at something, I excelled.

In my 6th semester, for instance, I managed to score a GPA of 9.7 after just one night of studying before the exams. While I struggled with some theoretical subjects, my analytical mindset always found a way through. Unbeknownst to me, I was applying statistics to ace my exams, despite my lack of interest in certain topics. I calculated the exact scores I needed to achieve a 10 or 9 and identified the questions most likely to appear. Instead of covering every topic, I bet on the probability of specific questions appearing.

I devised a strategy considering various factors like weightage of the subject ,obvious questions/topics, higher-mark questions that were bound to appear etc. to secure enough points. Which worked pretty well for me.

Statistics permeate our lives in diverse ways, whether in sports or daily cooking. A particularly fascinating concept I came across in Charles Wheelan's "Naked Statistics" is how easily you can explain to a high school student that the sum of an infinite series like 1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + ... can converge to a finite number. Imagine if we all had a teacher who made statistics this accessible before delving into lengthy derivations! What do you think is the probability that kids who hated mathematics would like it if they had a better teacher and another chance? ?? ??