Online Shopper Decision

You are buying a roller on Amazon. Four similar rollers have the same functions, the same price, the same look, but different ratings.

Which product do you choose?

A. 8 positive ratings (8 total ratings)

B. 45 positive ratings (48 total ratings)

C. 90 positive ratings (98 total ratings)

D. 177 positive ratings (198 total ratings)

Find the answer at aplusclick.org.

 

Unrepresentative Voting

Leslie Green explains how our voting systems can be unrepresentative.

Five different parties are standing in an election for one representative. The voting  methods:  First past the post (FPTP): the party with the highest vote-count wins.

Is the voting system representative?

The no-pets party has 30% of the total, whereas parties that want pets are the remaining 70%.  As it stands the FPTP system would vote-in the no-pets party, which does not represent the view of the electorate.  What has happened is that the pro-pet movement has splintered, dividing the vote. In order to overcome this, one can use a transferable vote scheme so people can vote for their preferred option safely, preventing the hated no-pets party from winning.

A more detailed analysis can be found in an example.

Guesstimate Methods

Guesstimate is an estimate based on a mixture of guesswork and calculation.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein

“The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.” – Richard Hamming

Guesstimate Methods and Examples from Igor Kokcharov, Ph.D, PMP

Estimate or Calculate?

” in the real world, we constantly settle for estimates, whereas mathematics — see the SAT — demands that you get the answer precisely right.” – Andrew Hacker in The New York Times article “The Wrong Way We Teach Math”

 

Estimate or Calculate?

My answer is one of them and do it fast.