Week 1: Context and scale#
STATS 60 Spring 2025
10 bonus points for attendance
1 bonus point for each Fermi victory
Discussion assignment (extra credit, bonus points: 10 + up to 5):#
Look for an example of numbers given without context in news headlines.
The more reputable the news source, the better.
Take a screenshot of the headline (including the subheadline, if possible).
Upload a link to the news story and screenshot of the headline to the Google Poll by 11:59PM on Wednesday, April 2.
The Poll will also ask you why you found the example compelling, and to assess whether the accompanying article puts the numbers in context.
If your example is chosen for the top 5, you get 5 additional bonus points.
Discussion Agenda#
Introductions (10 minutes)#
Discussion instructor facilitates a round of introductions. TA and then students each share
Name
Class year
Academic interest and/or major, if declared
One fun fact
Show and tell (10 minutes)#
The discussion instructor selects up to 5 examples of ``numbers without context’’ screenshots from their section.
For each selection, the student curator explains why they chose the example.
The class discusses the “three questions to put numbers in context.”
What is the context for this number?
What can I compare this number to?
What would I have expected this number to be?
Fermi problem contest (30 minutes)#
The Discussion instructor puts up and reads a list of Fermi problems.
Students break into teams of 2-3 and come up with ballpark estimates for each (15 minutes). Each team enters their answers into this Google Poll.
Class comes together, does each Fermi problem as a class.
Discussion instructor reveals the true answer \(A\). Student team whose answer was closest to the truth, on a logarithmic scale (so, the estimate \(B\) minimizing \(|\log(A) - \log(B)|\)), gets a bonus point.