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I still think the parent has a strong point though. Stats and CS are correlated skill sets. Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics as part of the

I still think the parent has a strong point though. Stats and CS are correlated skill sets. Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics as part of their education process, and I suspect that most statisticians are passable programmers. The fact that we have a term for the combination of both skills suggests that being great in both is not unique, it just makes you a great data scientist. The crux behind the idea of being better than average at two things makes you individually extraordinary is that the two skills are not correlated. An above average singer is probably an above average player of one or more instruments, but I'm sure there aren't many who are also great ice cream makers.

coryrc 6y ago
> Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics Oh how I wish that were true
gloatyegret 6y ago
> Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics as part of their education > The crux behind the idea of being better than average at two things makes you individually extraordinary is that the two skills are not correlated. I don't know if "almost all CS people" come from better schools than mine, but I've never had a proper statistics course, and my degree has a "data science" stamp on it. Having good statistics skills, and not just good knowledge of some machine learning frameworks, is probably rarer than you think.
- phkahler 6y ago
  >> but I've never had a proper statistics course, and my degree has a "data science" stamp on it. How do they justify that? ML is not IMHO the same thing, but maybe times are changing?
  - gloatyegret 6y ago
    I've given up trying to understand. The school focuses heavily on software development, and they don't seem willing to change the curriculum too drastically to make room for a good data science track. But they want to have one anyway... I wondered if my degree was an exception.

coryrc 6y ago

> Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics Oh how I wish that were true

gloatyegret 6y ago

> Almost all CS people learn a good bit of statistics as part of their education > The crux behind the idea of being better than average at two things makes you individually extraordinary is that the two skills are not correlated. I don't know if "almost all CS people" come from better schools than mine, but I've never had a proper statistics course, and my degree has a "data science" stamp on it. Having good statistics skills, and not just good knowledge of some machine learning frameworks, is probably rarer than you think.

phkahler 6y ago
>> but I've never had a proper statistics course, and my degree has a "data science" stamp on it. How do they justify that? ML is not IMHO the same thing, but maybe times are changing?
- gloatyegret 6y ago
  I've given up trying to understand. The school focuses heavily on software development, and they don't seem willing to change the curriculum too drastically to make room for a good data science track. But they want to have one anyway... I wondered if my degree was an exception.