7 ms·

Harvard Statistics 110: Introduction to Probability, on iTunes

154 points by DanielRibeiro 15y ago

sidupadhyay 15y ago
This is a really great addition to iTunes U. Skipping through the videos, the course appears to give a thorough treatment to the theoretical background of probability. I haven't seen too many intro probability courses explore topics such as Beta Distributions and Markov Chains with this much rigor. I hope Harvard does the same for Stat 111 and Stat 171. Edit: I just skimmed through some of the assignments and tests, and thought they are really good! If its been a few years since you took probability/statistics and feel you may be rusty when it comes to the integration and manipulations, give them a try! Homework 9 and 10, especially.
MisterMerkin 15y ago
Is there any way to watch this without iTunes? I don't use it and have no desire to join Apple's 'ecosystem'.
- aiscott 15y ago
  I don't believe there is, but you are missing out on some good content in iTunes U.
- sidupadhyay 15y ago
  It is unfortunate that the content isn't available outside of iTunes. Thought, if you're interested there are some other pretty good intro probability courses online: Math and Probability for Life Sciences (UCLA): http://www.academicearth.org/courses/math-and-proability-for-life-sciences http://www.academicearth.org/courses/math-and-proability-for... The course doesn't cover as much material, but is still fairly detailed. CS 798 Mathematical Foundations of Computer Networking, Fall 2008, University of Waterloo: http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/mediawiki-1.4.7/index.php/Mathematical_Foundations_of_Computer_Networking#Lecture_notes_and_videos http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/mediawiki-1.4.7/index... This is a really great course that covers a broad set of topics, and is some what similar in structure to the Stat 110 course. Beyond the basics of probability, you also can learn a good deal about statistical inference and stochastic processes.
- iamabhi9 15y ago
  If you are using GNU/Linux then there is an alternative http://tunesviewer.sourceforge.net/ http://tunesviewer.sourceforge.net/
  - rohitarondekar 15y ago
    This works on Ubuntu 11.10. There is a lot of quality content on ITunes and using Ubuntu as my main OS meant I couldn't access it. But this is awesome! I can finally download those lecture videos. Thank you!
  - radiowave 15y ago
    Thank you! After several attempts to download these with iTunes, I'm actually having rather more luck with this software. The videos play fine under Totem movie player on current release of Linux Mint.
  - mdaniel 15y ago
    FWIW, it appears the project also provides an Android application: http://sourceforge.net/projects/tunesviewer/files/Android/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/tunesviewer/files/Android/ I tried it on my HTC Desire (Cyanogedmod 7.1.0) and the search function in the app turned up the Harvard statistics class immediately. I hope those accounts below who lamented that they were on their Android tablets see this link.
afsina 15y ago
I really wished to have this class. But iTunes only? seriously? Get some inspiration from Stanford or MIT.
deleted 15y ago
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kpi 15y ago
Harvard, don't lock in your content! Other courses in many formats are available on http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative Why should this one be iTunes only?
- idspispopd 15y ago
  This storm in a teacup fear mongering stuff has to stop. It's silly to suggest this is locking in content, or even bad for anyone, and it's obvious why they use this distribution method over hosting the content themselves. 1. It's not in a proprietary format, the documents are PDF, the videos are AAC/H264. (I give up the h264 debate for today). Having to run iTunes to access the store is hardly "lock in". You might as well suggest turning on your computer is lock in. 2. This is on a CDN managed externally, Harvard don't need to invest in data centers. 3. Harvard don't have to pay for hosting/transmission/upkeep costs. 4. It enables harvard to provide something for free when normally they'd need to allocate budget. (And with that possibly charge for it.) 5. It's part of iTunes U, which is praised by universities across the globe for being an excellent enabler of education.
  - ramblerman 15y ago
    1) As posted in my other comment - I'm currently at the airport with my android, and no way to get this content. If it's not locked in, how do I access the data? When I get home I'll have to install itunes. Which will add the apple updater + bonjour to my system as well. 2-4) I agree completely with your arguments regarding the benefits to Harvard. You're saying the same thing in three different ways though, Harvard has no costs hosting this content, which is true 5) The big enablers of education that have entered my field of view are MIT opencourseware, khan academy and the recent stanford courses. Perhaps iTunesU is among them, but I haven't seen this praise in my feeds.
    - idspispopd 15y ago
      Your definition of lock-in needs a reality check. If my pocket calculator can't access the internet, it doesn't make the internet 'lock-in'.
ramblerman 15y ago
I don't suppose someone could be so awesome as to host the first lecture(s) as an mp3 somewhere? I'm at the airport and would love to hear this, but only have my android tablet with me :(
agumonkey 15y ago
* in progresss * itunes fetch the whole playlist as m4v so it must be possible to send audio when fetching's over. edit : Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media / Version 2 File size : 402 MiB Duration : 46mn 28s Overall bit rate : 1 209 Kbps Format : AAC Format profile : LC Stream size : 62.6 MiB (16%) Duration : 46mn 28s Bit rate : 192 Kbps full codec info >>> http://pastebin.com/dCHEmtVg http://pastebin.com/dCHEmtVg
PGenes 15y ago
Would love to see this, but definitely not prepared to go the Itunes route.
kahawe 15y ago
I think it is great that Harvard and Stanford open their course material on the internet but can someone explain to me why they would do it? I mean, what is in it for them - a bit of PR and friendly headlines aside? Their name and status alone is enough to stay "in business".
- draz 15y ago
  Harvard and Stanford (and other big name universities) are in the business of "selling" diplomas, not content. You cannot put on your resume that you "aced" a Harvard iTunes course, but only that you graduated from Harvard. I applaud these institutions for realizing it and allowing others to benefit from the content. Think of it as the public library model -- you can certainly pick up Tocqueville or Newton writing and read it, but it offers no guarantee of your mastery of the material. The diploma (supposedly) gives you that badge.
  - kahawe 15y ago
    Yes, I understand that but the question then still is... why would they spend time, money and resources to give you all that material for free? Other institutions in the "diploma business" will surely peek and try to keep up and I do not see or understand the benefit for Harvard, Stanford et al. if we are not talking altruistic purposes. Don't get me wrong, I think it is fantastic they do it and I applaud them - it is just really surprising and I am wondering about their motives, just my own (economic) curiosity.
    - dlf 15y ago
      I think the prestige of a university is tied more to the quality of their research, their legacy as an institution and the reputation of instructors they attract (which need not have anything to do with actual ability to instruct) than the quality of the content or instruction. I don't think the other institutions in the "diploma business" can replicate that as easily.
      - kahawe 15y ago
deleted 15y ago
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- gerggerg 15y ago
  First of, no one here is bashing anyone. We're talking about how to get people access to the content. Second, you're attempting to take this even more off topic with your meta rant.
sayemm 15y ago
A great college textbook I had for intermediate probability theory is "A First Course in Probability" by Sheldon Ross, highly recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Probability-Sheldon-Ross/dp/013603313X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326733748&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Probability-Sheldon-Ross/...
- jczhang 15y ago
  reviews look pretty bad. any defense/pro arguments for this?
- sidupadhyay 15y ago
  Another good book is "Mathematical statistics with applications" by Wackerly et al. It's focus is more on the application of the toolkit from probability, but about half the book focuses on the background of probability theory. What's great is that by the end of the book you will have a great introductory perspective of both frequentist and bayesian statistics. There are some gaps in the book, but it's a great reference nevertheless. http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Statistics-Applications-Dennis-Wackerly/dp/0495110817/ref=pd_sim_b_1 http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Statistics-Applications-D...

154 points by DanielRibeiro 15y ago

This is a really great addition to iTunes U. Skipping through the videos, the course appears to give a thorough treatment to the theoretical background of probability. I haven't seen too many intro probability courses explore topics such as Beta Distributions and Markov Chains with this much rigor. I hope Harvard does the same for Stat 111 and Stat 171. Edit: I just skimmed through some of the assignments and tests, and thought they are really good! If its been a few years since you took probability/statistics and feel you may be rusty when it comes to the integration and manipulations, give them a try! Homework 9 and 10, especially.

MisterMerkin 15y ago

Is there any way to watch this without iTunes? I don't use it and have no desire to join Apple's 'ecosystem'.

aiscott 15y ago
I don't believe there is, but you are missing out on some good content in iTunes U.
sidupadhyay 15y ago
It is unfortunate that the content isn't available outside of iTunes. Thought, if you're interested there are some other pretty good intro probability courses online: Math and Probability for Life Sciences (UCLA): http://www.academicearth.org/courses/math-and-proability-for-life-sciences http://www.academicearth.org/courses/math-and-proability-for... The course doesn't cover as much material, but is still fairly detailed. CS 798 Mathematical Foundations of Computer Networking, Fall 2008, University of Waterloo: http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/mediawiki-1.4.7/index.php/Mathematical_Foundations_of_Computer_Networking#Lecture_notes_and_videos http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/mediawiki-1.4.7/index... This is a really great course that covers a broad set of topics, and is some what similar in structure to the Stat 110 course. Beyond the basics of probability, you also can learn a good deal about statistical inference and stochastic processes.
iamabhi9 15y ago
If you are using GNU/Linux then there is an alternative http://tunesviewer.sourceforge.net/ http://tunesviewer.sourceforge.net/
- rohitarondekar 15y ago
  This works on Ubuntu 11.10. There is a lot of quality content on ITunes and using Ubuntu as my main OS meant I couldn't access it. But this is awesome! I can finally download those lecture videos. Thank you!
- radiowave 15y ago
  Thank you! After several attempts to download these with iTunes, I'm actually having rather more luck with this software. The videos play fine under Totem movie player on current release of Linux Mint.
- mdaniel 15y ago
  FWIW, it appears the project also provides an Android application: http://sourceforge.net/projects/tunesviewer/files/Android/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/tunesviewer/files/Android/ I tried it on my HTC Desire (Cyanogedmod 7.1.0) and the search function in the app turned up the Harvard statistics class immediately. I hope those accounts below who lamented that they were on their Android tablets see this link.

afsina 15y ago

I really wished to have this class. But iTunes only? seriously? Get some inspiration from Stanford or MIT.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

kpi 15y ago

Harvard, don't lock in your content! Other courses in many formats are available on http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative Why should this one be iTunes only?

idspispopd 15y ago
This storm in a teacup fear mongering stuff has to stop. It's silly to suggest this is locking in content, or even bad for anyone, and it's obvious why they use this distribution method over hosting the content themselves. 1. It's not in a proprietary format, the documents are PDF, the videos are AAC/H264. (I give up the h264 debate for today). Having to run iTunes to access the store is hardly "lock in". You might as well suggest turning on your computer is lock in. 2. This is on a CDN managed externally, Harvard don't need to invest in data centers. 3. Harvard don't have to pay for hosting/transmission/upkeep costs. 4. It enables harvard to provide something for free when normally they'd need to allocate budget. (And with that possibly charge for it.) 5. It's part of iTunes U, which is praised by universities across the globe for being an excellent enabler of education.
- ramblerman 15y ago
  1) As posted in my other comment - I'm currently at the airport with my android, and no way to get this content. If it's not locked in, how do I access the data? When I get home I'll have to install itunes. Which will add the apple updater + bonjour to my system as well. 2-4) I agree completely with your arguments regarding the benefits to Harvard. You're saying the same thing in three different ways though, Harvard has no costs hosting this content, which is true 5) The big enablers of education that have entered my field of view are MIT opencourseware, khan academy and the recent stanford courses. Perhaps iTunesU is among them, but I haven't seen this praise in my feeds.
  - idspispopd 15y ago
    Your definition of lock-in needs a reality check. If my pocket calculator can't access the internet, it doesn't make the internet 'lock-in'.

ramblerman 15y ago

I don't suppose someone could be so awesome as to host the first lecture(s) as an mp3 somewhere? I'm at the airport and would love to hear this, but only have my android tablet with me :(

agumonkey 15y ago

* in progresss * itunes fetch the whole playlist as m4v so it must be possible to send audio when fetching's over. edit : Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media / Version 2 File size : 402 MiB Duration : 46mn 28s Overall bit rate : 1 209 Kbps Format : AAC Format profile : LC Stream size : 62.6 MiB (16%) Duration : 46mn 28s Bit rate : 192 Kbps full codec info >>> http://pastebin.com/dCHEmtVg http://pastebin.com/dCHEmtVg

PGenes 15y ago

Would love to see this, but definitely not prepared to go the Itunes route.

kahawe 15y ago

I think it is great that Harvard and Stanford open their course material on the internet but can someone explain to me why they would do it? I mean, what is in it for them - a bit of PR and friendly headlines aside? Their name and status alone is enough to stay "in business".

draz 15y ago
Harvard and Stanford (and other big name universities) are in the business of "selling" diplomas, not content. You cannot put on your resume that you "aced" a Harvard iTunes course, but only that you graduated from Harvard. I applaud these institutions for realizing it and allowing others to benefit from the content. Think of it as the public library model -- you can certainly pick up Tocqueville or Newton writing and read it, but it offers no guarantee of your mastery of the material. The diploma (supposedly) gives you that badge.
- kahawe 15y ago
  Yes, I understand that but the question then still is... why would they spend time, money and resources to give you all that material for free? Other institutions in the "diploma business" will surely peek and try to keep up and I do not see or understand the benefit for Harvard, Stanford et al. if we are not talking altruistic purposes. Don't get me wrong, I think it is fantastic they do it and I applaud them - it is just really surprising and I am wondering about their motives, just my own (economic) curiosity.
  - dlf 15y ago
    I think the prestige of a university is tied more to the quality of their research, their legacy as an institution and the reputation of instructors they attract (which need not have anything to do with actual ability to instruct) than the quality of the content or instruction. I don't think the other institutions in the "diploma business" can replicate that as easily.
    - kahawe 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

gerggerg 15y ago
First of, no one here is bashing anyone. We're talking about how to get people access to the content. Second, you're attempting to take this even more off topic with your meta rant.

sayemm 15y ago

A great college textbook I had for intermediate probability theory is "A First Course in Probability" by Sheldon Ross, highly recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Probability-Sheldon-Ross/dp/013603313X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326733748&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Probability-Sheldon-Ross/...

jczhang 15y ago
reviews look pretty bad. any defense/pro arguments for this?
sidupadhyay 15y ago
Another good book is "Mathematical statistics with applications" by Wackerly et al. It's focus is more on the application of the toolkit from probability, but about half the book focuses on the background of probability theory. What's great is that by the end of the book you will have a great introductory perspective of both frequentist and bayesian statistics. There are some gaps in the book, but it's a great reference nevertheless. http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Statistics-Applications-Dennis-Wackerly/dp/0495110817/ref=pd_sim_b_1 http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Statistics-Applications-D...