Interesting Times!

Monday, 19 May 2008

I was listening to 'MoreOrLess' on the radio today...

'There are lies, damn lies and statistics' was how the programme started and it went on to focus on the work of Nassim Taleb the author of 'The Black Swan' and 'Fooled by Randomness'. In his books, Nassim argues that most of the time when we look at the sheer volume of information we are wading through we need to be careful that our explanations are not bogus. Because many times we construct a theory and then search to find the evidence to support the theory and unsurprisingly the more information we have the more likely it is that we can find statistically significant relationships... it is worrying to think that the more information we have the more we we are in danger of contaminating the truth. You can always find statistics to support the inference but it doesn't mean that it is true.

Interestingly today I also heard that Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, has published proposals to change the OFSTED inspection framework for schools. 'Weak' schools will be inspected annually while the 'best' schools will be inspected every six years. I thought we had established that you don't improve the pig by weighing it but Christine and her colleagues at OFSTED seem to think that inspecting schools makes them better. Personally, I don't believe it.
Chris

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: I get so frustrated at the garbage that is put out from government spokespeople as fantastic new ideas, progress, bold initiatives, blah, blah, blah, especially when it relates to children. (Let them play with other issues if they must but children really are our future, and they learn from what they see us doing more than what we tell them to do!) I know from many conversations that I am not the only one that feels this way. I may not agree with you all your ideas (difference is good) but it gives me hope that a man in your position has not lost the plot. I wish more politicians remembered what their job should be about rather than spending so much time on presentation and spin.; 20 May 2008 at 15:48
Chris Edwards said...: There are so many people out there measuring, weighing, checking, monitoring and inspecting that you sometimes wonder whether anyone is actually left to do the real work. I would love to know how many of them there are and what they cost us all.My question would be what could we really do if everyone rolled up their sleeves and helped us tackle the issues we are wrestling with on a daily basis.
Chris; 21 May 2008 at 23:39

Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson