pet peeve # 3 - ambiguous definitions Degrees of freedom can be defined as:
the number of independent pieces of information that go into the estimate of a parameter
the number of values in the final calculation of a statistic that are free to vary
the number of independent components minus the number of parameters estimated
measure of variability which merely expresses the number of options available within a variable or space
(my favorite) a mathematical property of a distribution related to the number of values in a sample that can be freely specified once you know something about the sample
Call me stupid, but I find it pretty freakin' frustrating mildly annoying, when I read five definitions for a concept and still do not understand it enough to explain it to my grandmother.
This reminds me the abstract instructions they used to put on electric appliances with one button - "the operation of this electric appliance is performed by compressing the red-colored knob at the front of the appliance". These instructions are also known as "Push the red button!".
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brewings) wrote,
annoyed
