queerlilhayseed comments on Statisticians, is this true?

[–] queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone 16 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in the US they aren't "kinda considered" doctors, they are doctors. They have terminal medical degrees and practitioner's licenses same as any other medical practitioner. They're kinda segmented off from the rest of medical practice because of how dentistry evolved alongside other historical healing practices, but they are doctors.

Second, is statistics not a branch of mathematics? The courses I took on probability and statistics were taught by the math department. I don't see how it can't be. Is it "pure" math? Depends on how you define pure but probably not. Is it "easy" math? Arguably some of it is, though I think people who think stats is an easy science probably aren't very good at it. All that I get. But the idea that it is (uniquely among technical disciplines) "not math" is... confounding to me.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 2 child comments

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)

Statistics results change based on the lens through which you interpret the data. Pure math doesn't do that. Assigning probabilities is arguably pure math, but assigning error bars is purely subjective. It's more a reflection of the subjective selection and definition processes than of the underlying probabilities.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 1 child comment

[–] queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

assigning error bars is purely subjective

I don't know where you got this idea from but it is incorrect. Error bars are used to indicate uncertainty in measurements and they are used to indicate confidence (or lack thereof) in those measurements. Measurement is hard, and precise measurement is harder, so engineers of all stripes use error bars to indicate how precisely their data have been recorded. It's not just a stats thing.

also this:

results change based on the lens through which you interpret the data

happens in every field, including pure mathematics. Look up the axiom of choice if you would like a lot of further reading about the implications of interpreting mathematics through that particular lens. Much as we may long for a "purely objective" language of the universe, free from the limitations of human interpretation, we haven't discovered it yet. The best we can do for now is try to make good assumptions and build from there.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent