There is no virtue in obedience when we do not have a choice. But when we have a choice it helps to understand both the law and the reason behind the law. This column is about bad choices that are being made on a daily basis by the users of statistical software. These bad choices violate the laws of physics, mathematics, statistics, and possibly even gravity itself. For enlightenment, read on.

In statistics classes we introduce the concept of probability models and their parameters, then we quickly move on to descriptive statistics and other functions of the data. In the minds of many students, there is no little amount of confusion over the roles these parameters and statistics play. As a result, the statistics end up being used in inappropriate ways and these uses end up contributing even more confusion to the whole subject.

Parameters

On the mathematical plane we use probability models to represent random phenomena that exist in the real world. They allow us to develop analysis techniques that will work with real data. This mathematical modeling of the real world is a mainstay of physics and is the heart of mathematical statistics.

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