By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data analytics in sports industry
    Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
    6 Min Read
    data analytics on nursing career
    Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
    8 Min Read
    data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
    Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
    9 Min Read
    data-driven image seo
    Data Analytics Helps Marketers Substantially Boost Image SEO
    8 Min Read
    construction analytics
    5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
    5 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Mythbusters and Statistics
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics
data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
Analytics
anti-spoofing tips
Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses
Security
ai in software development
3 AI-Based Strategies to Develop Software in Uncertain Times
Software
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > The Mythbusters and Statistics
Uncategorized

The Mythbusters and Statistics

DavidMSmith
Last updated: 2009/09/16 at 7:16 PM
DavidMSmith
5 Min Read
SHARE

I love the TV show “Mythbusters.” If you’ve never seen the show, it’s great. (A new season starts this week on the Discovery Channel in the US.) Every week, the team describes one or more myths or urban legends (example: a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building could kill a pedestrian), and then they attempt to confirm or “bust” the myth with experimentation. (Wind tunnel experiments showed that the terminal velocity of a penny isn’t fast enough to seriously injure someone.)

One thing that has mildly bugged me about the show is the lack of replication in the experiments: typically, they only ever attempt to replicate the myth once or maybe twice, and rarely discuss the variability in their measurements. So I was pleased to see the issue come up in this New Scientist interview:

You often have sample sizes of one or two, but science is all about replication. How do you respond to that criticism?

JH: People simply wouldn’t watch it if we were just repeating things over and over again. We do them as compactly as we can to keep up the energy level and flow. We intend these shows to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

More Read

big data improves

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.
Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump
WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers
In Memoriam: Robin Fray Carey

AS: I think the part of the scientific enterprise …

I love the TV show “Mythbusters.” If you’ve never seen the show, it’s great. (A new season starts this week on the Discovery Channel in the US.) Every week, the team describes one or more myths or urban legends (example: a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building could kill a pedestrian), and then they attempt to confirm or “bust” the myth with experimentation. (Wind tunnel experiments showed that the terminal velocity of a penny isn’t fast enough to seriously injure someone.)

One thing that has mildly bugged me about the show is the lack of replication in the experiments: typically, they only ever attempt to replicate the myth once or maybe twice, and rarely discuss the variability in their measurements. So I was pleased to see the issue come up in this New Scientist interview:

You often have sample sizes of one or two, but science is all about replication. How do you respond to that criticism?

JH: People simply wouldn’t watch it if we were just repeating things over and over again. We do them as compactly as we can to keep up the energy level and flow. We intend these shows to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

AS: I think the part of the scientific enterprise that we do illuminate is that it’s a messy, creative process that changes your whole understanding. We’ll spend half an episode finding that we’re asking the wrong question.

A fair response. I think in general they’re aware of the variability and significance issues, but I agree that more important contribution of the show is the experimental process: encouraging kids in particular to actually measure and compare things to answer questions. Issues like controls, replication, and significance are moot without data, after all. (Co-host Adam Savage talks more about the effect of the show on kids in this video interview from reason.com. Heartwarming stuff.)  

I was also pleased to see that they do seek the input of statisticians from time to time, too:

When you are testing your own reactions, might you bias your results because you have expectations about the outcome?

AS:
That’s a good point and makes me think that we should demonstrate
experimental bias on the show. It was an issue when we investigated
“beer goggles”: whether drinking alcohol can make people seem more
attractive. I spent a long time with a friend of mine who’s a
statistician to try and remove as much of the bias as possible.

New Scientist: MythBusters: ‘Using your head is a lot of fun’ 

Link to original post

DavidMSmith September 16, 2009
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics
data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
Analytics
anti-spoofing tips
Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses
Security

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

big data improves
Big DataJobsKnowledge ManagementUncategorized

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

6 Min Read
Image
Uncategorized

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.

7 Min Read

Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump

4 Min Read

WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers

14 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

giveaway chatbots
How To Get An Award Winning Giveaway Bot
Big Data Chatbots Exclusive
AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?