Streuspanne – Statistics and Its Curiosities

Probably everyone wonders how long they will actually live. You can't say exactly to the second, but statistics show very different aspects. Who lives the longest? What do the figures say?

This week, Dr Jochen Fiedler and Dr Sascha Feth, together with moderator Esther Packullat, take a closer look at the topic »end of the world«. They try to examine the end of the world with the help of the Doomsday Argument, which is based on probability theory and statistics. What conclusions do the three come to, what other considerations do they take into account and can the end of the world really be statistically predicted?

This week, our Streuspanne podcast is all about the topic of the speed limit in Germany. Questions about what is currently probably the most important topic in the transport sector are answered: Could the climate targets be achieved with the change in mobility? How, for example, can CO2 savings through a speed limit be determined empirically, i.e. with the help of statistics? And how can good arguments be made in favor of a speed limit?

In this episode, the two blogging statisticians Dr. Sascha Feth and Dr. Jochen Fiedler talk with host Esther Packullat and guest participant Nathalie Steil about audience ratings, their significance, and above all: the basics of their mathematical development.

What actually makes us scientists? We mean »real sciences« and not pseudo-sciences like parapsychology. Presumably our scientific methods, which also include empirical studies! Unfortunately, we pat ourselves on the back with this demarcation too early. Because especially the parapsychology manages again and again to hold significant studies under the nose of us »real scientists« – there is everything, from telepathy up to smart-talking rats. In this way, claims which do not fit into our (scientific) world view are supported with data. How can this be? Are these studies perhaps simply faked? Unfortunately, no. Worse, the detailed answer to this, might make us doubt whether empirical science really creates knowledge.

The Corona pandemic seems to be disappearing from our everyday lives and minds, and with it the masks from our faces. It feels like only half of the people still wear a mask in the supermarket. So today we ask ourselves the question: What good are masks that are hardly worn any more?

Today's episode is all about the topic of chance. How is the term »coincidence« defined mathematically and what conclusions arise from this for everyday situations that we interpret as coincidence? What distinguishes the world of quantum mechanics from the macrophysical one in this respect? What role do cats play, and what chances of success would an omniscient demon have in a game of dice? As always, we answer these and a few more questions for you from the perspective of statistics.

Last year, we addressed the topic of corona testing and its reliability in a series of blog posts. We received a question from a reader about this series: How much does the reliability of antigen tests increase if you test yourself more than once? Answers are provided by our blogging statisticians Sascha Feth and Jochen Fiedler.

Today's episode is all about so-called »embarrassing characteristics«. Alcohol problems, doping in sports and the partially still sensitive topic of corona vaccination – our blogging statisticians tell us what role social desirability plays and how science deals with this problem. In addition to methods from science, Dr. Sascha Feth and Dr. Jochen Fiedler also take a closer look at the unreported number of Corona infections and the start of the pandemic in Italy and Germany. As always, Esther Packullat guides the podcast with questions.

In our podcast, we have already talked about how vaccine effectiveness is calculated. We mainly referred to the registration studies. Now millions of people have been vaccinated and we have a lot of new data. Shouldn't we know better now how effective vaccination is?