Question

Write about "Where are statistics?", “How does it, or how do they, relate to me?” “Can I understand what I am reading and do I believe it?

Please include the statistics (percents, averages, NUMBERS, etc...) from what you read, and comment on those and how you relate to your work or personal life.

Answer 1

A statistic is a value that has been produced from a data collection, such as a summary measure, an estimate or projection. Statistical information is data that has been organised to serve a useful purpose.
Statistics is also a term that refers to the practice of collecting, analysing, interpreting and communicating data. It is the science of interacting with data.

Statistics represent a common method of presenting information helping us to understand what the data are telling us.
Descriptive (or summary) statistics summarise the raw data and allow data users to interpret a dataset more easily.
Descriptive statistics can describe the shape, midpoint and spread of a dataset..
Inferential statistics are used to infer conclusions about a population from a sample of that population. Inferential statistics are the result of techniques that use the data collected from a sample to make generalisations about the whole population from which the sample was taken.
Inferential statistics include estimation, and hypothesis testing.

statistics :

1. percents : A new advertisement for Ben and Jerry's ice cream introduced in late May of last year resulted in a 30% increase in ice cream sales for the following three months. Thus, the advertisement was effective. So from this example, we can get a view of their sales.

2. numbers :  The largest earthquake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. From this, we get to know the largest measure of earthquake.

3. average :   

Consider the case of a suburb having 9 similar eateries. Assume that a lunch for a person costs - say 60, 50, 70, 90, 80, 100, 80, 120, 110 rupees. Few hundred meters away from these eateries. Now, what is the average cost of lunch for one person - in this locality? Average cost or mean would be:

(60+50+70+....+110) / 9 = 84.444

Daily life uses of statistics :

You would use statistics to decide whether to get an operation or to take a certain medication. If 99% of the people who took X medicine died, you wouldn’t take it

The rating of movies, books, cars, restaurants, doctors, real estate agents help you decide which is best

Statistics are involved with the stock market, real estate market, predicting weather, predicting disease, and ascertaining whether women are paid equally to men for doing the same job.