6. Courses of study will place much more emphasis on the analysis of data. Gen. George Marshall famously told a Princeton commencement audience that it was impossible to think seriously about the future of postwar Europe without giving close attention to Thucydides on the Peloponnesian War. Of course, we’ll always learn from history. But the capacity for analysis beyond simple reflection has greatly increased (consider Gen. David Petraeus’s reliance on social science in preparing the army’s counterinsurgency manual).
As the “Moneyball” story aptly displays in the world of baseball, the marshalling of data to test presumptions and locate paths to success is transforming almost every aspect of human life. It is not possible to make judgments about one’s own medical care without some understanding of probability, and certainly the financial crisis speaks to the consequences of the failure to appreciate “black swan events” and their significance. In an earlier era, when many people were involved in surveying land, it made sense to require that almost every student entering a top college know something of trigonometry. Today, a basic grounding in probability statistics and decision analysis makes far more sense.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University tracked the body mass indexes of 19,450 students from fifth through eighth grade. In fifth grade, 59 percent of the children attended a school where candy, snacks or sugar-sweetened beverages were sold. By eighth grade, 86 percent did so.
The researchers compared children’s weight in schools where junk food was sold and in schools where it was banned. The scientists also evaluated eighth graders who moved into schools that sold junk food with those who did not, and children who never attended a school that sold snacks with those who did. And they compared children who always attended schools with snacks with those who moved out of such schools.
Think about what population the researchers are interested in. Is the sample they chose a good sample? Does the size of the sample make you more or less confident of the results.
Now consider a question they could be studying: are children who eat junk food more or less obese? Think about whether their data can answer this?
They are doing something slightly different, though. Can you articulate the result carefully? If you were not careful, are there other ways to frame the result that are not supported by the data, but sound like they do?
42,000 young people (18 to 25 years old) showed up from January 2-5 in Atlanta for a conference at the Georgia Dome and parts of all three buildings of the Georgia Dome. Here’s some local coverage from channel 11 and here’s a report from CNN (their building is right next to all the activity).
Passion 2012 was the conference. I volunteered and worked as an usher on the floor of the Georgia Dome. The students donated money to support organizations battling slavery around the world, and here in Atlanta. $100,000 was donated to the city of Atlanta to help start a special victims unit of the police department.
Total amount raised during the four days? $3,066,670. Awesome. And more coming with online giving.
Next year the plan is to take down the curtain they use for concert seating at the Georgia Dome. That will make room for a lot more attendees. I can’t wait.
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