Wednesday, August 1, 2012

STEPHEN COLBERT AND EULER DIAGRAMS


Set theory is certainly not a core topic in business statistics. Nevertheless, a basic understanding of Euler and/or Venn diagrams, intersections, unions, disjoint sets, etc… is necessary to help students understand the basics of probability.

To break the ice and get students interested in this abstract topic that is often seen as less relevant, I always use Stephen Colbert’s treatment of Sean Hannity’s claim that “the U.S. is the greatest, best country that God has ever given men on the surface of the earth”.