Editing 2696: Precision vs Accuracy
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic parodies the difference between 'accuracy' and 'precision' with a table. {{w|Accuracy and precision}} are common concepts to be encountered in the scientific field and often students have issues with the differences between them. Accuracy concerns whether a statement is true, while precision concerns how detailed it is; it is possible for a statement to be one but not the other. The comic explores this concept by comparing {{w|Barack Obama}}, former President of the United States, with {{w|cat}}s. Confusingly, he measures different statistics of both Barack Obama and cats (sometimes measuring them in terms of cats) leaving the unwary reader | + | {{incomplete|Created by BARACK OBAMA IN A CARDBOARD BOX. Further detail, sortable table? - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | This comic parodies the difference between 'accuracy' and 'precision' with a table. {{w|Accuracy and precision}} are common concepts to be encountered in the scientific field and often students have issues with the differences between them. Accuracy concerns whether a statement is true, while precision concerns how detailed it is; it is possible for a statement to be one but not the other. The comic explores this concept by comparing {{w|Barack Obama}}, former President of the United States, with {{w|cat}}s. Confusingly, he measures different statistics of both Barack Obama and cats (sometimes measuring them in terms of cats) leaving the unwary reader just as confused as before. | ||
Being precise is typical of calculations that roll out an excess of significant digits, often in the form of trailing decimals. Precision is lowered by using more rounded figures, or merely being comparative, but largely unaffected by whether the original values used were accurate or even correct. Accuracy is a cumulative function of the accuracy given to the intermediate values used for any calculation, and can be degraded by using figures that are themselves in some way inaccurate or imprecise. One part of confusion between the two is because being too precise usually decreases accuracy. | Being precise is typical of calculations that roll out an excess of significant digits, often in the form of trailing decimals. Precision is lowered by using more rounded figures, or merely being comparative, but largely unaffected by whether the original values used were accurate or even correct. Accuracy is a cumulative function of the accuracy given to the intermediate values used for any calculation, and can be degraded by using figures that are themselves in some way inaccurate or imprecise. One part of confusion between the two is because being too precise usually decreases accuracy. | ||
− | The numbers mentioned in the top row (high precision) of the table all use exactly the same digits, dictating that a full five digits of ''precision'' are used in them all. The most "valid" or correct value is a number that's very accurate and precise (see table). For the medium accuracy the number is an anagram of the 1st entry, giving a value that is reasonable but would be overly exact, whilst the low accuracy number is just a repeat of the first entry's digits with a shifted decimal but clearly at the wrong scale | + | The numbers mentioned in the top row (high precision) of the table all use exactly the same digits, dictating that a full five digits of ''precision'' are used in them all. The most "valid" or correct value is a number that's very accurate and precise (see table). For the medium accuracy the number is an anagram of the 1st entry, giving a value that is reasonable but would be overly exact, whilst the low accuracy number is just a repeat of the first entry's digits with a shifted decimal but clearly at the wrong scale. For the latter, he replaces the thousands separator with the decimal point, perhaps as a visual pun. |
The title text compares Obama's and cats' enjoyment of playing with cardboard boxes. While cats are known to do this,{{citation needed}} we don't know whether Obama does. | The title text compares Obama's and cats' enjoyment of playing with cardboard boxes. While cats are known to do this,{{citation needed}} we don't know whether Obama does. | ||
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|High | |High | ||
|Barack Obama was president for 70,128 hours | |Barack Obama was president for 70,128 hours | ||
− | | | + | |Within an hour, this is the official length of {{w|Barack Obama}}'s 8-year presidency, including 2 {{w|leap year|leap days}}. |
|- | |- | ||
|High | |High | ||
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|A highly precise (5 significant digits) measurement, but far from his actual height, published as 6'1". | |A highly precise (5 significant digits) measurement, but far from his actual height, published as 6'1". | ||
The given value is more than an order of magnitude different from both him and {{w|Robert Wadlow|almost}} any other known human, whilst one of 7.0128 would ''only'' be about 15% off – still a low accuracy, but not outside the realms of possibility for an otherwise unknown person. | The given value is more than an order of magnitude different from both him and {{w|Robert Wadlow|almost}} any other known human, whilst one of 7.0128 would ''only'' be about 15% off – still a low accuracy, but not outside the realms of possibility for an otherwise unknown person. | ||
− | |||
|- | |- | ||
|Medium | |Medium | ||
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|Medium | |Medium | ||
|Barack Obama is 6'1" | |Barack Obama is 6'1" | ||
− | |While | + | |While not very precise, that is the former president's published height. [https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/08/politics/obama-medical-exam-loses-weight In 2016], Obama was said to have "grown" 0.5 inches in height, so there is a lack of precision of exactly how tall he is. |
− | [https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/08/politics/obama-medical-exam-loses-weight In 2016], Obama was said to have "grown" 0.5 inches in height, so there is a | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Medium | |Medium | ||
|Low | |Low | ||
|Barack Obama has 4 legs | |Barack Obama has 4 legs | ||
− | |Barack Obama, being a mammal, does qualify as a | + | |Barack Obama, being a mammal, does qualify as a tetra-pod, but as a primate, his two forelimbs have been modified into arms and hands, and like other humans, he does not generally use them for locomotion, but to manipulate his environment, thus this is highly ''in''accurate. |
|- | |- | ||
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|Medium | |Medium | ||
|Barack Obama has fewer legs than your cat | |Barack Obama has fewer legs than your cat | ||
− | |Again, this will depend on the cat | + | |Again, this will depend on the cat, but in general, true. |
|- | |- | ||
|Low | |Low | ||
|Low | |Low | ||
|Barack Obama's cat has hundreds of legs | |Barack Obama's cat has hundreds of legs | ||
− | |This statement has low accuracy, as Barack Obama owns a four-legged dog named Sunny, but is not known to have owned a cat, much less one with more legs than normal. | + | |This statement has low accuracy, as Barack Obama owns a four-legged dog named Sunny, but is not known to have owned a cat, much less one with more legs than normal. It also has low precision, as "hundreds" could reasonably range from 200 to 900. |
|- | |- | ||
|Low | |Low | ||
|Unsure | |Unsure | ||
|Barack Obama is much less likely than the average cat to jump in and out of cardboard boxes for fun | |Barack Obama is much less likely than the average cat to jump in and out of cardboard boxes for fun | ||
− | |Barack Obama has never publicly jumped in and out of cardboard boxes for fun,{{ | + | |Barack Obama has never publicly jumped in and out of cardboard boxes for fun,{{citation needed}} but the possibility that he does in private exists. |
|} | |} | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[ | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
− | + | ||
+ | :[A table with 3 rows and 3 columns] | ||
+ | |||
+ | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | + | ! !! High accuracy !! Medium accuracy !! Low accuracy | |
|- | |- | ||
− | + | ! High precision | |
|Barack Obama was president for 70,128 hours||Barack Obama weighs as much as 17.082 cats||Barack Obama is 70.128 feet tall | |Barack Obama was president for 70,128 hours||Barack Obama weighs as much as 17.082 cats||Barack Obama is 70.128 feet tall | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | + | ! Medium precision | |
|Most cats have 4 legs||Barack Obama is 6'1"||Barack Obama has 4 legs | |Most cats have 4 legs||Barack Obama is 6'1"||Barack Obama has 4 legs | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | + | ! Low precision | |
|Most cats have legs||Barack Obama has fewer legs than your cat||Barack Obama's cat has hundreds of legs | |Most cats have legs||Barack Obama has fewer legs than your cat||Barack Obama's cat has hundreds of legs | ||
|} | |} | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Statistics]] | [[Category:Statistics]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
[[Category:Cats]] | [[Category:Cats]] |