The most interesting things I learned from the first week of #DataSchool:
- Learning tools versus learning theory
- Stay humble with the fundamentals
- Do the work – no shortcuts
005 – Do the Work
Learning Tools Versus Learning Theory
Learning R is really about learning to use a number of tools.
Luckily, you don’t need to learn the theory to use the tools.
Tools are designed to be used – easily.
In JC, we had to study ANOVA – learning how to do Analysis-of-Variance calculations by hand, looking up p-tables, and t-tables, and z-tables.
With R, all you need is one command:
anova.result <- aov(yVar ~ xVar1 + xVar2, data = dataframe)I can get a result without knowing how to read a p-table.
On the other hand, not understanding the theory means sometimes you misuse the tools.
Should you use ANOVA? How many variables, one-way or two-way? What about the Chi-squared test?
That’s when the bit of theory is needed.
Stay Humble with the Fundamentals
The most important thing I learned in week one of $DataSchool is how to perform Simple Linear Regression.
But to get there, I needed to start with:
- Basic statistics – Normal distributions, The Central Limit Theorem, and Student’s T-test
- Hypothesis testing – Sampling, ANOVA and Variance
- Regression – Simple Linear Regression, Correlation, Multiple Regression, Chi-Squared (for Categorical Variables)
Similarly, I spent six months learning arguments and fundamentals, failing at a bunch of programming languages.
After that, adapting to R was relatively simple.
When I faced unfamiliar code, I could guess. For example,
aov(yVar ~., data = dataframe)
That . stands for “all x-Variables in the dataframe.
That came from previous experience and experiments troubleshooting code.
Most importantly, I learned how to google StackExchange for help, and figure things out like you need to factorize categorical variables for some functions.
I also learned by trying things out myself.
I tried to build a pi chart to annoy the lecturer – who chuckled and suggested the right function to use.
Do the work – no shortcuts!
On day 3, we encountered a lecturer who made us do the calculations the long way. We had to do Two-Way ANOVA, eliminate one variable, and then do One-Way.
I grumbled – this was additional work.
(To put this in context, it took 20 minutes instead of 15).
But that was an important extra 5 minutes. It was rigorous. It was the right style of scientific reasoning.
And it got me to learn better.
Another example – learning to build infographics by hand.
Which is better?
Personal Updates
🟢💪 Physical Health
- I got the booster and laid up in bed all weekend with a fever. The downside is I am barred from physical exertions for two weeks.
The upside is my neck pain is gone. - Stretching helps. I developed a small daily stretching routine that I’ll be getting back to after this.
🔴🤝 Relationships
- I spent some time with friends this week; it’s nice to relax with old friends.
- I was worried about reaching out to B, but I’ll text her tomorrow.
🔵📈 Work
- I felt a pang of self-loathing this week. I felt bad that someone else made more money than me, and had a better career than I had, before.
I’m also one of the oldest in class, so I’m even further behind.
But wise Lesley and Jimmy Carr both reminded me – it doesn’t matter when you are so much as where you are.
- I also got to use my Improv skills to coach a team. Fun, and paid for fancy dinner.
⛔️💰 Wealth
- I love buying things. I spent a bunch of money trying to buy new clothes, and was on the verge of buying new coffee grounds, thermos flasks, and (even more clothes).
Instead, I packed up my stuff. Turns out I have more than I think, and don’t need to buy as many things. I should start by throwing things out.
I’m considering minimalism, more and more. We learned about Dieter Rams’ design ethos: less, but better. This seems a good motto to adopt.
A lot of my clothes are cheap, bought on sale whenever an online sale presents itself. It also means I tend to scour scales for “good enough” items, and settle for them even if they aren’t great or are just a bit off or imperfect. That’s not a great approach.
Also, I have eight sneakers aside from my running shoes. I never thought I’d be the type to own so many shoes, but clearly the saying is true: you buy cheap, you buy twice.
I will try to spend money better.
🟣❤️🩹 Spiritual Wellness
- Last year, I said something about taking care of Mental Health and asking for help. This echoed with somebody.
- #Believe. Being positive and affirming is a habit I can’t seem to shake as an Improv coach, so it’s good to keep this up.
🧠👊 Mental Strength
- Isn’t it strange how the brain emoji looks like a fist emoji question mark emoji?
- I have to work on moving forward, instead of beating myself up about the past. If I’ve got time for self-doubt, I’ve got time to try harder.
Recommendations
- Before & Laughter — It’s a decent self-help book and a passable memoir. Neither as affirming as Dale Carnegie, nor as educational as Ryan Holiday, and not quite as practical as Marie Kondo, but at face value it works.
Some of the stuff is simple, derivative, cliched stuff – but the cliched stuff works. I worship Jimmy Carr, so perhaps it’s hero worship that makes me believe it more when he says it. - Red Rising by Pierce Brown — Excellent. Gory, uncomfortable, powerful.
I had some trouble at the start because it feels a little rough. You don’t have a sense of what kind of story you’re reading. In most stories, the framing is well done – you know what the story is about, the tropes, the author’s thesis. Here, escalations are not foreshadowed (which is good, because plot twists) characters appear and disappear quickly (which is true to life), and plotlines dangle unresolved (which sets up the rest of the trilogy).
But the world is complete, and compelling enough that I finished in a weekend (and started the next in the trilogy), and it’s an amazing story so far. I just would I knew what the story is about.
12-Dec-2021