Google| Subject | Re: Colonial Photo & Hobby |
| From | Tony Cooper |
| Date | 04/20/2014 16:51 (04/20/2014 10:51) |
| Message-ID | <tpj7l998fbjsf55639ta3so9jrcllvi8j9@4ax.com> |
| Client | |
| Newsgroups | rec.photo.digital |
| Follows | Sandman |
| Followups | Sandman (31m) |
On 20 Apr 2014 12:05:48 GMT, Sandman <mr@sandman.net>wrote:
SandmanIf you want to argue grammar, it was already plural. Data is the plural of datum. A data point is a datum that makes up the data.
In article <n767l91vt02lvuvsg6a6ngcfl8ksmg5pg2@4ax.com>, Eric Stevens wrote:Eric StevensTony CooperSandman
All statistics start with one data point.
And no statistics consist of one data point.
You are bluffing. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_point"In statistics, a data point or observation is a set of one or more measurements on a single member of a statistical population."Single data points are as much a part of statistics as is a cloud of data points.Sandman
See how you had to make it plural to make the sentence work?
Certainly it is. To have data, you must have data points. All statistics are based on an accumulation of datum, and each instance of datum is part of the whole that is used to compile or project the statistic.Sandman"A single data point is as much part of statistics as is a cloud of data points"Just doesn't work.Eric Stevens
Please explain why.
Because "a single data point" isn't statistics.
You cannot analyze or project a single data point statistically, but without it your statistic doesn't exist. It is part of the whole.
You have to have more than one data point for it to be statistics, and then one single data point of those many data points become important.Well, not quite. You're implying that multiple data points are statistics. You can have an unlimited number of data points without that group of data points being a statistic.
I have four doors in my office. That's not statistics. If I were to compare it to the number of doors in other offices, I would have more data points and voila - statistics.Again, not quite. Remember, statistics is the *study* of accumulated data. (Unless we say "statistics are", in which case we mean the results of the study) We can do a statistical study on four doors. We can put a counter on each door, count the number of openings/closing per work day, collect this data in sufficient quantity, and project which door is likely to used the most in future days within an expected probability of error.
The number of doors in one office or in many offices is not "statistics". What you *do* with the number is what determines whether or not it will result in statistics.
statistic noun a fact or piece of data from a study of a large quantity of numerical data
statistics pl.noun [ treated as sing. ] the practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, esp. for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.Not quite. You have to have one, but what you mean is you can't have *only* one. It can be argued, though, if you have a "data point", you have more than one. A data point is an instance within the data.Incorrect. As long as you have one datapoint, the data is worthless, statistically.
But a seemingly accurate observation.SandmanEric StevensEric StevensSandman
(a) not necessarily and (b) even if the data is worthless it does not make it any less a part of statistics.
Incorrect.
Simple denial without explanation. I don't think you know much about statistics.
Ironic.
-- Tony Cooper - Orlando FL
04/14/2014-
