The Tao of Statistics. Dana K. Keller
The Tao of Statistics
Second Edition
The Tao of Statistics
A Path to Understanding (With No Math)
Second Edition
Dana K. Keller
Halcyon Research, Inc.
Helen Cardiff
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Keller, Dana K.
The tao of statistics: a path to understanding (with no math) / Dana K. Keller, Halcyon Research, Inc.; illustrated by Helen Cardiff.—Second edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4833-7792-6 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Statistics. 2. Statistics—Study and teaching. I. Title.
QA276.K253 2016
519.5—dc23 2015000191
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
15 16 17 18 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Acknowledgments
To those who lent indispensable assistance with the book:
Amy Eutsey, Diana Foley, Frank Funderburk, John Montroll, and Bill Naylor for their careful readings and advice on the first edition.
Camille Z. Charles, University of Pennsylvania; Joan Engebretson, School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Rashmi Gupta, School of Social Work, San Francisco State University; and Erica Watson-Currie, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. The insights and suggestions made by these SAGE reviewers provided me with direction and guidance for improving and updating the text.
Margot Kinberg for her faith, support, multiple critiques, and friendship for many years.
My children: Zachary, who showed me that there are many paths to knowledge and in that way inspired the book; and Jason, who helped me to understand an artistic approach that brought the book to life.
Mostly to my lovely wife, Mary Lou, for more than I can say. I would marry her again in a heartbeat.
About the Illustrator
Helen Cardiff is an artist and illustrator living on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Her work is prominently displayed during yearly civic events as well as in galleries and private collections in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The fusion of her Taoist and artistic trainings fosters fresh insights into the book’s topics. She can be reached at [email protected].
About the Author
Dana K. Keller, PhD,has explored Taoism and other Eastern philosophies for almost five decades, with journeying to and teaching in China and Tibet as parts of that exploration. He embraces two very different worlds, the West with its scientific approach to knowledge and the East with its more balanced approach to experiencing life. In The Tao of Statistics, he presents a way that the two worlds can coexist harmoniously and benefit from each other. His PhD is in measurement, statistics, and program evaluation. After supervising the research component for more than 100 doctoral dissertations and serving as a charter member of Delaware’s Panel of Evaluation Experts, he joined the Delmarva Foundation as its chief statistician. During his 7 years serving in that capacity, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services named him as a recommended national resource for the nation’s managed care organizations for resolving complex sampling and research issues. His almost unique ability to explain statistical and methodological constructs in everyday language has resulted in his being requested frequently as a presenter and technical expert panel member in the public health community. Now president of Halcyon Research, Inc., he continues to bring his ability to explain statistical concepts simply to an ever-widening audience. He can be reached at [email protected].
Introduction to the Second Edition
For most people, the concept of statistics begins as a shadowy mathematical nightmare, followed by a mandatory course or two in college, and is considered a weakness forevermore. Why? The answer is incredibly simple: The way statistics is taught is not the way most people learn, including most methods used to teach the Statistics and Probability domain within the Common Core State Standards Initiative for Grades 6–12. Most people learn easily through impressions and experiences, the qualitative side of life, not through numbers and equations, the quantitative side. This book shows that the fundamental concepts of statistics can be learned through impressions and experiences, too. Simply put, understanding the meaning and worth of statistics does not require the ability to calculate them.
Statistics are ways of understanding more about questions and issues that interest us. The Tao of Statistics is a journey down a path that leads to an intriguing view of the world. The statistical view of the world is of a place where knowledge is neither certain nor random. Statistical portraits are painted in pastel rather than in primary colors. Extremes are understood for the information they contain but are done so in a context of centrality. The Tao of Statistics lays a path to this understanding of the world. The path leads to a view of the subtle patterns in life that were invisible before.
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