THE CLASS EFFECT

How does an ISBian feel in the statistics class while he is attending the lecture of Professor Stine?
ISBian (declares with expressive eloquence): Statistics is an absolute beauty (In fact, nowadays I find it more beautiful that the beauty of my dreams). I never thought that I can appreciate so many things now. Give me a chance, and I can be an excellent portfolio manager. If you want to test my quality management skills, you can consult me to prepare the control chart for the latest microchip in the market. In case you want me to do some marketing for you, I can take the complete responsibility to provide you with all the details from sampling to breakeven. Just give me data, and I can create magic out of it. I can even predict how the stocks are going to behave tomorrow.

How does the same ISBian feel when he decides to use his latest skills to solve last year’s mid term paper?
ISBian (completely confused): I was wondering which “mean” to consider for this case. Should I consider the “sample mean” or the “process mean”? Why I am thinking about mean, may be “standard error” is the right catch. But I can see “standard deviation” given. What is “standard error” then? Is it a “typo”. No way. Professor Stine and “typo”. Are you crazy?...What is "sample variation", and how is it different from "simple variation". What is meant by "spreading of risk"....completely blank. May be I have to start all the topics from the beginning to get to know what “statistics” is.

This is the situation with most of us in ISB. I am really amazed by the way Prof Stine handles this topic. When you are in the class, you feel as if you have understood the minutest details. That’s the magic of this class. Just like you watch Sachin Tendulkar batting and feel that batting is too easy. And when you handle a bat (as you play against the local team that plays in your backyard), you realize what the real thing is.