It was the second day of Advanced Mathematical and Statistics class. The class started off with Gary giving us a brief idea about the geographical structure of the United States. He drew a flowchart starting with the USA and that followed by states and counties. He pointed out the differences in the sizes of the counties. On one side of the country, there were noticeably larger counties, while the rest of the country had the usual, more regular-sized counties.

After giving us a brief but insightful overview of county sizes and their geographical implications, Gary shifted back to the fatal police shooting dataset where students were asked to come up with new and interesting questions and insights made up from analyzing the dataset.

Few questions that I have in my mind based on the analysis are:

• Is there any difference in the outcomes of fatal police shootings when the body cameras are in use versus when they are not?

– This focuses on whether body cameras affect the legal or public consequences for officers involved in shootings.

• What are the most common circumstances leading to fatal police shootings?

–  For example, were the shootings tied to a specific crime, resisting arrest or mental illness issues?

• How do fatal police shootings vary by urban vs. rural areas?

– Are there more shootings in densely populated urban areas or in rural areas with smaller police departments?

 

Thank you!!

 

It was my first day of Advanced Mathematical Statistics class, taught by Gary Davis. The class started of as Gary began calling out the names of students from a sheet of paper, and there he goes calling out the first name, ” who is Chandrakanth? “, yeah it was me! , I raised my hand and answered, “its me sir”, and he asked me that whether my first name is “Fnu” and I said yes. He replied as it is interesting to have two people in the class with their first name as “Fnu”. Then he continued calling out everyone’s name.

Gary gave us a brief introduction to the course by presenting his screen to us, where he showed us the course texts, course structure, how the assessments are structured and how it works, academic integrity etc.

After that, Gary asked us to create our own WordPress site where we would post our journals throughout the course. This was a bit of a surprise, but it made sense because it would allow us to track our progress and share our thoughts on what we were learning.

Next, Gary gave us a dataset of the Washington-Post-police-shootings. We were asked to analyze it and come up with questions based on the data. The idea was to really dive into the dataset and think critically about it. We were told to prepare our questions and ask them when we were ready.

As everyone started working with the dataset, many students asked interesting questions about patterns and trends they noticed. When it was my turn, I asked Gary a question that had been on my mind: “On what basis is a person considered mentally ill, if the person is already shot dead?”

He responded by sharing his own life experience which I don’t want to share here. His story made me realize that even though statistics are important, it cannot capture the full human experience behind the data.

Overall, the class was really interesting. I have learned that statistics is not just about numbers, it is about understanding the bigger picture. I am looking forward for the next class on thursday.

 

 

Hi, I’m Chandrakanth! I’ve recently completed my BCA in Data Science, and I’m passionate about using data to uncover insights and solve problems. I’m fascinated by how statistics and algorithms can help us understand the world around us.

With a strong foundation in data analysis, machine learning, and statistics, I’m always eager to learn more and apply my skills in new ways. Whether it’s making predictions, analyzing trends, or creating data visualizations, I love exploring how data can drive better decisions.