Content by Steve Moore
A Bridge Too Far!What math nerds do when they’re bored
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 12:03
In this year’s April issue of the Bridge Bulletin, the ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding campaign to promote the beloved game of bridge to a wider audience. Included in the new logo is the tagline “…
The Pickleball Serve and Theories of VariabilityYou can find quality concepts anywhere
Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:03
Pickleball is arguably the fastest-growing sport in the United States, especially among baby-boomer retirees. This game is similar to tennis, but is played on a smaller court (44 ft × 20 ft) with a solid paddle and a perforated polymer ball much…
The Lost Art of Significant DigitsMore digits don’t always mean more accuracy
Mon, 04/24/2017 - 12:03
When I entered college in the fall of 1970, I had a nice slide rule (or “slipstick” as some of us called it) that I proudly carried in a leather case to my engineering and chemistry classes. Virtually everyone at North Carolina State University had…
It’s Time to Dump ‘Management Commitment’And finally embrace leadership
Wed, 02/18/2015 - 16:18
A rough draft of this column had been sitting in the “drafts” folder on my computer for several weeks. Rip Stauffer’s recent commentary, “Is Six Sigma Dead?” prompted me to dust it off and finish it. In my not-so-humble opinion, Six Sigma is not…
On Alleviating Tortured Data And a proposal for a ‘new’ run chart rule
Mon, 09/29/2014 - 12:26
Up until a few years ago, I wasn’t a big fan of run charts. Why not just go ahead and construct a process behavior chart and move on? Well, sometimes a run chart is more appropriate for certain data structures. For example, some data are “chunky”—…
The Misuse and Abuse of Process Behavior ChartsNine common pitfalls to avoid
Thu, 12/06/2012 - 11:46
More than 30 years ago, I became aware of the power of statistical process control (SPC) and what we used to call control charts (now called process behavior charts). As technical director of the company where I was employed at the time, I promoted…
Babe Ruth and Binary Logistic RegressionHow the Sultan of Swat’s stats correlate homers and Hall of Fame
Fri, 09/02/2011 - 13:17
The quote “Baseball been berry, berry good to me” comes from one of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits from the late 1970s. Garrett Morris played Chico Escuela, a retired Hispanic baseball player who knew very little English. His pat answer…
Let’s Make a Deal Meets Deal or No DealThe simplest analysis that offers insight is always the best
Wed, 03/23/2011 - 06:00
During the late 1990s, Marilyn vos Savant, holder of the Guinness Book of Records’ highest recorded IQ of 228, received an avalanche of hostile responses, many from Ph.D.s in math and statistics, when she correctly solved the controversial “Monty…
Let’s Make a Deal Meets Deal or No DealThe simplest analysis that offers insight is always the best
Wed, 03/23/2011 - 06:00
During the late 1990s, Marilyn vos Savant, holder of the Guinness Book of Records’ highest recorded IQ of 228, received an avalanche of hostile responses, many from Ph.D.s in math and statistics, when she correctly solved the controversial “Monty…
Feel-Good Data Analysis Won't Save Firefighters’ Lives“Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’...”
Wed, 08/04/2010 - 06:00
An article titled “Sharp Drop in Firefighter Fatalities in 2009” appeared in a safety trade journal recently. For the first time in three years, it said, on-the-job firefighter fatalities dropped below 100. The article went on to say that the 82…