Are we alone in the universe? A question that has occupied and fascinated human mind for generations. But with the enormous size of the universe, we can’t possibly be alone right? – Patrick Jans
Statistics
Newcomb’s paradox
Let's suppose that we have a game with two players. One is a person that will make a decision and the other is a supercomputer that will try and predict that decision beforehand. This computer has been tested many times and the testers have worked out that the...
Why does time seem to speed up when we get older?
With a deep sigh you blow out the candles on the cake. Today is your birthday and the whole family is congratulating you. You should be happy, but something is troubling you. Last year seems to have passed so quickly, even quicker than the year before. When you were...
Interview with TKP
TKP, have you already heard of them? When you are a student in Groningen, the answer is probably yes. You probably have encountered their famous ‘red tower’ on the ring road numerous times. However, there are also a lot of students who have heard of them but still do...
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test
In statistics we are often estimating parameters and then, using some hypothesis test, we can find out if we should either reject our null hypothesis or not. Now in these tests we almost always rely on some known distribution of a so-called test statistic. Let us...
The true winners of the Olympic Games
In July 2021 the 32nd Olympic Summer Games will take place. Or at least, that is the plan of the Japanese organizers and the International Olympic Committee. With the COVID-19 pandemic rates rising in Japan and global concerns whether organizing such a large event is...
Will your family name ever go extinct?
[latexpage] Nowadays, in most countries, everyone has a surname. Some names are very common, like “de Jong” in the Netherlands, or for example “Nguyễn” in Vietnam, where almost 40% of the population has this surname. On the other hand, some surnames are extremely...
The medical test paradox
[latexpage] Testing has been quite a significant subject during this pandemic. Around 30.000 people a day are being tested in the Netherlands alone, so it is quite important that such a test can accurately predict whether someone actually has the disease. However, an...
The EU emission deal: a small step into a greener direction
5 years ago, the world united in a way that it had almost never seen before: in Paris, on the 12th of december 2015, 196 countries agreed on tackling climate change and limiting global warming at the end of this age by a max of 2 degrees Celsius compared to...
Reversion to mediocrity
Nowadays, research in many fields involves statistics. Whether it comes down to a government's decisions on measures fighting a pandemic or the Red Bull formula 1 racing team deciding on whether Verstappen should swap tires in the next lap, it sounds like a good idea...
Do basketball players have a hot hand?
[latexpage] If you are a basketball fan, you are probably familiar with the term: the hot hand. This is often used when a player is on a scoring streak and it seems likely that he will also score the next point. He is very confident, he feels good, and therefore it...
Can we statistically estimate homeowners’ propensity to put a property for sale?
The number of transactions in the property market depends on many sectors of the economy. Fundamentals such as demographics, productivity, and income play a significant role in generating volatility in house prices. In general, transactions on the housing market are...
Rethink the way you think about randomness!
Imagine you get the opportunity to flip a coin for only 1 dollar : if it turns up heads, you win 50% and if it turns up tails you lose 40% of your initial bet. Of course we’re all familiar with calculating expected payoffs: since this bet has an expected payoff of...
Donald Duck and the magic wheel
Donald Duck, the unfortunate duck that we all know and love, has had it. He angrily shouts at Scrooge McDuck: "every single day I'm brushing coins for you, and yet you barely pay me enough to buy food for my own nephews. I demand a raise!" Scrooge responds: "No way! A...
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