Today was the first day of Biostatistics and Experimental Design with Mike Guill. Part of our grade will be based on maintaining a blog about our experiences and thoughts on course material.
I named my blog site Mystic Statistics Logistics. Mystic conjures up images of wonder and things unknown while logistics comes from the Greek term logistikos, meaning "skilled in calculating" (which I am not, but hope to be after this course).
Thanks for stopping by my blog pages!
Cheers!
Cocktails anyone?
This is what my week has been like...
I'm the fish...
JV 6.7
4 degrees of freedom
JV 6.7
50 degrees of freedom
JV 3.29
Singapore Diamond Market
Diamond mine workers
Pre burn
Post burn
5 comments:
very cool. nice color scheme :)
interesting name, too. reminded me that i'd always wondered about the etymology of the word 'logistic' with respect to the 'logistic' (= sigmoid) equation in population biology.
i took a quick look here and here but neither (in my quick read-through, i might have just missed it) explains the history or significance of the word "logistic."
personally, i don't see the connection with either of these non-mathematical meanings:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/logistics
any ideas?
Mike,
Thanks for the comment. I found that definition here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/logistics
Do you ever use answers.com? If so, what is your impression of it?
See you Tuesday!
Rebecca
> Thanks for the comment.
no problem. as far as i can tell, that's what this 'blogging' thing is all about. kind of like having a conversation. only slower. :)
> I found that definition here:
> http://www.answers.com/topic/logistics
hmmm. maybe i'm just dense, but i'm still not seeing the connection between, e.g., 'military procurement' and a population growth curve that includes the effects of carrying capacity.
> Do you ever use answers.com?
i haven't routinely, though i am seeing it pop up in google searches more and more often.
> If so, what is your impression of it?
seems like a good resource, though i could do without the ads :)
Mike,
I think we miscommunicated here. I just meant that I had found the initial definition that I discuss in my first blog posting on answers.com. I was referring to this: "The word itself is derived from the Greek logistikos, meaning 'skilled in calculating'."
My hypothesis is that the answer to your question lies within this definition. From what I know of the logistic equation and resulting curve, it can be used by scientists to predict or calculate future trends in population growth. It's almost like a mathematical crystal ball- you plug parameters into the equation and the resulting curve tells you the future of your population. So, in this way, the equation itself is performing a suite of complex calculations for you in one fell swoop and could be considered "skilled in calculating".
I'm a little over-tired, so this might sound like a load of hogwash, but it makes sense in my current state.
See you tomorrow,
Rebecca
interesting idea. maybe -- although i wonder why this model would qualify as "skilled" more than others that are equally -- or better -- at modeling actual population dynamics. maybe a bit of conceit on the part of the person who named it. wonder who that was...
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