Register today for our Generative AI Foundations course. Use code GenAI99 for a discount price of $99!
Skip to content

Blog

Going Beyond the Canary Trap

In 2008, Elon Musk was concerned about leaks of sensitive information at Tesla Motors.  To catch the leaker, he prepared multiple unique versions of a new nondisclosure agreement he asked senior officers to sign.  Whichever version got leaked would reveal the leak source. This is known as a “canary trap.” The canary trap only worksContinue reading “Going Beyond the Canary Trap”

Choosing the Right Analytics Problem

The “streetlight effect:”  A man is looking for his keys under a streetlight.   Policeman:  “Where did you lose them?”   Man:  “In the alley, near the door to the bar.”   Policeman:  “Why are you looking here?”   Man:  “The light’s better.”   This is related to the more general “Statistical Type 4 Error” – asking the wrong question, andContinue reading “Choosing the Right Analytics Problem”

Book Review: Mining Your Own Business by Gerhard Pilcher and Jeff Deal

This is a short book, Mining Your Own Business: A Primer for Executives on Understanding and Employing Data Mining and  Predictive Analytics” befitting its intended audience – managers and executives with responsibility for data science and analytics projects.  It outlines the requirements for success – not technical model success, but rather successful implementation in a way that buildsContinue reading “Book Review: Mining Your Own Business by Gerhard Pilcher and Jeff Deal”

Jan 29: Statistics in Practice + Announcement

This week we discuss the importance of choosing the right analytics problem, with a guest blog from Elder Research, Inc., a data science and analytics consulting and training company, with whom we have just joined forces.   Our course spotlight is on: Feb 14 – Mar 13:  Design of Experiments See you in class! – Peter Bruce, FounderContinue reading “Jan 29: Statistics in Practice + Announcement”

Industry Spotlight: Clinical Trials

 “Complete Your Clinical Trial With Our File Data” Clinical trials that support new drug development can cost over a billion dollars.  A new industry has popped up – data collectors and aggregators that provide digital data from their files as evidence in pharmaceutical clinical trials. The gold standard in a clinical trial is the randomizedContinue reading “Industry Spotlight: Clinical Trials”

Jan 6: Statistics in Practice

Happy New Year! We are grateful for your continued support and appreciate your interest in learning more about statistics, analytics, and data science. In this new year, think of your learning as an investment both in the future of your company and your career. Below are courses, certificates, and pathways to help you get started. We’re available to help youContinue reading “Jan 6: Statistics in Practice”

Historical Spotlight: Statistical Analysis and Human Rights

Artificial intelligence and analytics have gotten some bad press recently, from the role that social media has played in fracturing and heightening divisions in democratic society to the “big brother” role that data mining and image recognition have played in China’s suppression of minorities.  But statistical analysis has also long played a role in documenting,Continue reading “Historical Spotlight: Statistical Analysis and Human Rights”

Simulating the Complex Sale

Every 30 minutes a new business book is published; many of them purport to teach effective selling.  Most of them make sense, but solid quantitative analysis is rarely on the front burner. This is strange, because effective selling requires demonstrating value.  Sales professionals are taught to show components of value such as cost savings orContinue reading “Simulating the Complex Sale”

Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics

95 years ago, Bell Labs was founded as a joint project of AT&T and Western Electric.  Its primary mission was R&D for its parents’ fast-growing telecommunications businesses.  Since that time, Bell Labs became a fabled American research institution, but also suffered the vicissitudes of trying to reconcile its orientation to basic research with the needsContinue reading “Historical Spotlight: Bell Labs and Statistics”

Analytics Meets the Cardboard Box

“Do you have a bag?“ or “Would you like a bag?” have become common parts of the brick-and-mortar retail transaction.  Reusable bags, or simply doing without, have reduced the flow of plastic and paper into recycling.   E-commerce is a different matter.  I just unpacked a box of wine, and dealing with the protective spacers andContinue reading “Analytics Meets the Cardboard Box”