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Ask HN: Suggestions for learning statistics (& prob) really fast?
Any suggestions for learning basic statistics and probability (and beyond, but need a decent base first :-)?
Preferably, any material that uses R or something student-friendly (read: free or student license) would be extra credit.
Motivation: don't want to take year long stats courses in college that don't use stats software.
EDIT: Just to make the experience fruitful, I am aware of OCW, this (http://www.math.gatech.edu/~cain/textbooks/onlinebooks.html), etc... But, which materials in here or elsewhere are helpful?
- mdakin 18y agoThe MIT probability class targeted at EECS students is 6.041. It is on OCW. It provides a solid foundation in probability with an emphasis on applications (rather than proof). Statistics is but one application of probability and is not heavily emphasized by the class (at least when I took it). That said if you understand 6.041 you'll understand statistics without much more work. Good luck and have fun!
- oscardelben 18y agoUnfortunately I couldn't find video lectures for 6.041. Do you guys only use lecture notes?
- madcaptenor 18y agoOCW has a list of courses available on video (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm). 6.041 isn't one of them.
- chaostheory 18y agoThe Headfirst series has a statistics book now: http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Statistics-Dawn-Griffiths/dp/0596527586/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237868433&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Statistics-Dawn-Griffiths/d... No it doesn't have R in it, but it's an interesting read
- peregrine 18y agoI am in a Prop and Stats course right now would like this just so I can apply it outside of class to something useful.
- azharcs 18y agoI liked this Lecture "Basics of Probability and Statistics" by Mikaela Keller, IDIAP Research Institute. http://videolectures.net/bootcamp07_keller_bss/ http://videolectures.net/bootcamp07_keller_bss/ ps: She is cute. :)
- carterschonwald 18y agohttp://www.amazon.com/Theoretic-Probability-Statistical-Probabilistic-Mathematics/dp/0521002893 http://www.amazon.com/Theoretic-Probability-Statistical-Prob... is a great book if you want to learn advanced probability theory and techniques.
- ian01 18y agoI took Applied Statistics 550 with all assignments in R. Caught me up on statistics real fast after I hadn't taken it in about 2 years. Concepts in Probability and Stochastic Modeling, Huggins and Keller-Mcnulty. Its good and short. Doesn't have the R assignments though.
- eisenkr 18y agoThe best first book on R I've read is Gelman and Hill's "Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models" (http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/arm/ http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/arm/). It's more focused on regression and Bayesian methods than basic probability, but it's a great book that's priced very competitively (only $39.99).
- simon_kun 18y agoWell written, humorous intro to statistics using R: http://www.amazon.com/Statistics-Introduction-Michael-J-Crawley/dp/0470022981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237875293&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Statistics-Introduction-Michael-J-Craw...
- albertcardona 18y agoRead the "Cartoon Guide to Statistics". It's no joke. Rather, perhaps the book that explains statistics in the clearest way. http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/dp/0062731025 http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...
- tokenadult 18y agoA very good, readable, SHORT article worth rereading about what makes statistics a separate subject from mathematics is http://statland.org/MAAFIXED.PDF http://statland.org/MAAFIXED.PDF The article includes a bibliography of recommended readings, and talks about the use of software in statistics education. Another good article is http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=uclastat/cts/tise http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10... Both articles will help a student in any kind of statistics course or statistics self-study better understand statistics, and how probability relates to statistics.