AFRO-NETS> Supercourse Newsletter, 30 September 2002

[Ron LaPorte <super1+@pitt.edu>]

Supercourse Newsletter, 30 September 2002
-----------------------------------------

http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/

Dear Friends, 

It is time that we make statistics an exciting, accessible world-cup 
team of science & the Stats Steelers (in honor of the Pittsburgh 
Steelers).

Heard in many of the schools today:

Tukey was a Turkey:

I would rather go to the dentist than learn Stats. Boring, Boring, 
Boring, with a capital B. If I want to cure people why do I need 
this? Who cares about black and white balls in a fishbowl? Taking a 
test in statistics hurts worse than having a baby!! I do not need to 
know ANOVA to become a neurosurgeon. I will NEVER need this stuff, 
ever, ever again!!!

Heard from 20 year old medical students, veterinary students, nursing 
students in Shanghai, Siberia, Sudan, Slovenia, Switzerland and Sa-
vanna.

OH NO!!!! I have to publish a paper to get promoted. Oh my goodness, 
I have to understand the reports in the Lancet. I am a Diabetologist, 
what the heck is Cox Regression that was used in the DCCT trial? Eve-
ryone is talking about meta-analysis, is this some kind of psycho-
therapy? I have to publish 2 papers this year to get an academic po-
sition, why didn't I pay attention to statistics in my second year. 
Help, Help, Help, where do I find a statistician? Why does the stat-
istician laugh at me when I bring data from 17 cases of MI in, and 
say to her that I want to publish this in the New England Journal of 
Medicine? How can I analyze my data, when SPSS, and SAS cost more 
than my yearly salary, should I feed my children, or do a t-test? 

Heard from 30 year old doctors, nurses, veterinaries, and dentists in 
Moscow, Memphis, Manila, Manitoba, and Mendoza.

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha

Heard from statisticians as the 30 year olds come begging. It is the 
revenge of Chi Squares.

Towards a Statistical Steelers Supercourse World Cup Team:

The reality is that in most dental, medical, nursing, and veterinary 
schools statistics is pretty boring stuff, taught with little excite-
ment and in many cases, quite inaccurate. It is time to start to help 
the teachers of statistics world-wide by giving them better materi-
als. Why can't statistics be as exciting as the World Cup. The time 
is right because:

1. Overhead projectors: The last stronghold of overhead projectors, 
rolling acetate, and colored crayons has been those teaching statis-
tics, but, alas, as Bob Dylan has said "the times they are a chang-
ing". There is a remarkably rapid switch to PowerPoint.

2. Students statistical needs: 

There is a growing recognition by students in medical school that 
they have to understand statistics in order to pass their medical 
boards, to do research, to obtain an academic job (it isn't how good 
you cut anymore, but how well you understand meta analysis and pub-
lish in top flight journals). If you do not understand evidence based 
medicine, you will die academically.

3. Open Source Software: Excellent, free software is now available 
for statistical analysis. Everyone can have copies of software.

We would like your help. We have only 16 statistical lectures on the 
Supercourse, but quite a few research design lectures. Please tell 
your friends who are teaching statistics about the Supercourse and 
encourage them to submit a lecture. Epidemiologists, and yes, even 
clinicians can submit statistics lectures. We strongly encourage mul-
tiple lectures on the same topic, as two teachers presenting a lec-
ture on meta-analysis will use different ways, so people world wide 
will have many options.

Yen-Hong Kuo has agreed to help. 'R' is a free statistical software 
available at:
http://www.r-project.org/ 

Yen-Hong Kuo will be providing a Supercourse lecture as to how to use 
this. We will help students of the world to learn how to use free 
statistical software. If you are aware of other free software please 
send a description to us, and we will distribute this world wide.

We can improve global teaching of statistics. We can build a Statis-
tical Steeler World Cup team!!! We need to collect more statistical 
lectures and we need to network those teaching statistics. Please 
write a lecture, recruit as many statistical experts you can find for 
the Statistician World Cup Team.

What a team, Gauss, Cochrane, Fisher, Pearson, and the world s sta-
tistical teachers. Imagine 300 top-notch lectures that anyone can use 
to teach, and free software that anyone can use to analyze their 
data. 

Please let us know if you can contribute statistical lectures. Please 
tell the people who teach statistics in your university about the Su-
percourse, and let s make them a part of the global effort of the Su-
percourse.

We will test the hypothesis that in 5 years the Supercourse can im-
prove global knowledge in statistics. We have more than sufficient 
Power of 95% (and a PowerPoint of 100%), we will detect a 50% im-
provement, using a 2 tailed test. Let s do it!

Thank you.

Ron, Akira, Faina, Eugene, Mita, EunRyoung, Julia, Rania, Beatriz, 
Soni, Tom, Abed, Deb
mailto:super1+@pitt.edu

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