I’m doing something a little different for this week’s email and highlighting a couple of things I thought were worth sharing:
How to Think Like an Epidemiologist (New York Times, August 4th, 2020)
This article caught my eye because it raises a very good teaching point for anyone interested in real-world statistics: you must update your information as it changes. Now I must be honest, I initially clicked on the story because I thought the title was meant to be ironic. (After all, why would I possibly want to “think” like an epidemiologist, given that I am hard-wired to associate epidemiology with horrible nutrition studies?) But it’s actually a fantastic piece that explains Bayes’ Theorem which you need to understand if you want to make sense of anything from cancer screening to COVID testing to ruling out a ruptured appendix in the ER.
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Robin Williams’ final days detailed in touching trailer for new documentary Robin’s Wish (Entertainment Weekly, August 6th, 2020)
In response to my email about Robin Williams last week, a reader sent us the news that a new documentary called Robin’s Wish is set to release on September 1st. The film tells the story behind Williams’ struggle with Lewy body dementia and the final years and days of his life.
– Peter
