|
|
Go to page 1~2 [Next] | ||||||||||
glicko New user 6 Posts |
Hi all,
My colleague Larry Lesser (Univ of Texas, El Paso) and I have just completed a paper on incorporating magic tricks in probability and statistics classes. The paper went through the peer-review process and has been accepted for publication in "Model Assisted Statistics and Applications" most likely to appear in the December 2009 issue. You can grab a pre-print (very slightly different from the version that will be published) at http://math.bu.edu/people/mg/research/Ma......post.pdf . Thought some Café members might be interested. Enjoy! - Mark Glickman -- Prof. Mark E. Glickman Center for Health Quality, Outcomes & Economics Research Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Hospital (152), Bldg 70 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 tel: (781) 687-2875 fax: (781) 687-3106 http://math.bu.edu/people/mg |
|||||||||
TomasB Inner circle Sweden 1144 Posts |
Nice! That seems so much better than to use magic in religion class.
/Tomas |
|||||||||
airship Inner circle In my day, I have driven 1594 Posts |
Excellent! I work in the Research Dept. at ACT (American College Testing) and am surrounded by people who have their PhDs in Statistics or Psychometrics. I can't wait to try some of these with them!
'The central secret of conjuring is a manipulation of interest.' - Henry Hay
|
|||||||||
lboudreau Loyal user Alexandria, Virginia 288 Posts |
Bravo! Magic is an excellent way to engage student interest. I applaud your effort to make mathematics more accessible.
LEO
|
|||||||||
S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
Very cool!
I've used magic in various classes I've taught; e.g., I open my course in cash flow analysis with a coins across routine. And in every math class I've taught, the last day of class is always the same: review for the final exam and magic show. (I figure that if they've put up with me for an entire semester of calculus or linear algebra or differential equations or whatever, they've earned it.) I had one student who told me that he would have dropped my course in linear algebra and differential equations, but stuck it out (and earned a C, by the way) just so that he could see the show on the last day. Whatever motivates 'em, eh? |
|||||||||
sean_mh Loyal user 229 Posts |
I am a statistician as well, and use magic (cards mostly) as demonstrations in all the classes I teach in high school and univ. Yes, magic certainly does bring 'em in!!
Sean |
|||||||||
tomboston New user Fort Lauderdale, FL 90 Posts |
I teach a high school Statistics class and am looking forward to reading about this!
|
|||||||||
Michael J. Douglas Inner circle WV, USA 1645 Posts |
I don't know what all those number meant, but it was an interesting read. I can certainly see how those effects would be effective in teaching probability and stats.
Michael J.
�Believe then, if you please, that I can do strange things.� --from Shakespeare�s �As You Like It� |
|||||||||
barneyfife Veteran user 326 Posts |
I am a high school math teacher and have used magic to show probability. I love the whole article and can't wait to incorporate these effects in the classroom.
Barney
Always in motion is the future
|
|||||||||
johnmharris New user 58 Posts |
This looks great! Thanks for sharing it with us.
|
|||||||||
glicko New user 6 Posts |
Thanks to everyone for the complimentary comments. The paper has now been published, though it can only be accessed with a journal subscription. Here's the web site for the journal issue in which the paper appears (see pages 265-274):
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/xmxu0g576051/ - Mark |
|||||||||
RLFrame Elite user 447 Posts |
I heard a fellow on NPR a couple of years ago that co-wrote a stats textbook using magic-type tricks. Some pretty neat stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Statistic......98572247 |
|||||||||
glicko New user 6 Posts |
I believe Gelman's book is more a set of demos for statistics lectures not really connected to magic. Still, a very fun book with instructive demos.
- Mark |
|||||||||
RLFrame Elite user 447 Posts |
The one demo that he talked about in the interview was in sending two groups of students out of the room into separate locations. One group had a coin, the other did not. The group with the coin was decided AFTER they left the room so that no one in the room knew who had the coin. One group was to flip the coin a number of times and record the results. The other group pretended to flip the coin, and recorded the 'results' of these imaginary flips. When they returned and showed their results, the teacher immediately knew which group had the real coin.
|
|||||||||
glicko New user 6 Posts |
Yes, that's one of the demos that can be couched as a magic trick, and it relies on people's misperception of randomness in binary sequences. It's a very clever idea.
- Mark |
|||||||||
TomasB Inner circle Sweden 1144 Posts |
I posed the coin tossing as a problem, expecting no one to solve it. You get no points for guessing who did.
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=101 /Tomas |
|||||||||
amedica Regular user 109 Posts |
Very interesting paper, thnks for that
Looking to BUY: Penomenon Writer (Black version), Ghost Cap (Porper), CAPtivated, Glass Mirage, Just a Key (Porper)
|
|||||||||
mralincoln Loyal user If I wasn't so busy, I'd have more than 219 Posts |
Just clicked the link and downloaded the paper for later reading. Thanks so much for posting it and for thinking of those of us on the Magic Café!
|
|||||||||
glicko New user 6 Posts |
Not to continue this thread indefinitely, but I thought I'd mention that the editor of the journal that published our paper on magic demos in the statistics classroom has decided to make the article (and the entire issue, which is on statistics pedagogy) publicly accessible on the journal's website. For a fresh copy, check out:
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/j7......text.pdf Thanks. - Mark |
|||||||||
IanL New user Washington State 83 Posts |
What about Out of This World for probability? Clearly, on each attempt to separate black from red, you should have a 50/50 chance. The odds of being correct become slimmer and slimmer with each card.
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Magical equations » » Magic and teaching probability & statistics (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |