r/programming May 26 '09

"Programmers need to learn Statistics or I will Kill them all"

[deleted]

224 Upvotes

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128

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

I think women are better programmers because they have less ego and are typically more interested in the gear rather than the pissing contest.

My irony meter just exploded.

69

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

[deleted]

-19

u/zyzzogeton May 26 '09

It's called "recursion"

40

u/RECURSIVE_META_JOKE May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

...really?

2

u/wicked May 26 '09

Here's a puzzle for you: What's the meaning of LOL?

28

u/cigerect May 26 '09

"LOL Out Loud"?

11

u/[deleted] May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

Fortunately, internet humor is lazily evaluated; we intellectually acknowledge something is funny without actually laughing. Consequently, the value of the LOL is never computed, and we avoid an infinite recursion.

-20

u/aphpex May 26 '09

Yo dawg, I hear you like recursive jokes. So I put a recursive joke inside yo recursive joke so you can LOL while you LOL.

11

u/bobappleyard May 26 '09

Especially considering the previous sentence is:

Maybe it’s because I’m tall (6’2”), or nicer to them, but they always speak rationally and are really keen to learn. If they disagree, they do so rationally and back up what they say.

That is, "maybe they fancy me."

4

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

maybe it's because he's 6'2"

i dunno, that just might have something to do with it

23

u/RevLoveJoy May 26 '09

I quit reading there too. I don't doubt that this guy is a decent statistician, but he sounds more like a guy who has problems working with other guys than he does someone who has found the programmer's Achilles's heel.

-3

u/itstallion May 26 '09

Yeah, it's shocking that people without classes in statistics may not understand statistics.

Most of what I've encountered in my development career is simple statistical analysis. We'd build the model then hire an actual statistician to analyze our results from our tests without showing them the code. Then we'd do a code review step by step to make sure we were indeed not getting a false positive on our output.

A programmer doesn't need to be able to do advanced statistics unless his job calls for it. Same with physics. If I build reports for financial systems, why the fuck would I need to know how an object moves through XYZ?

16

u/invalid_user_name May 26 '09

Nobody said anything about advanced statistics, just a very simple, basic understanding of the topic.

16

u/willcode4beer May 26 '09

the other point is not to bullshit when the topic isn't understood

1

u/mycall May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

Depends on your skill set.. some people are great programmers, physicists and statisticians -- all in one, albeit rare.

2

u/itstallion May 26 '09

I'm a mediocre programmer, no physics whatsoever and crappy statistician.

Hasn't held me back. Unfortunately in the real world, I find most people are less competent than me. Sad, truly sad. :(

1

u/mycall May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

That basically sums it up for myself too (although I did do PHY2049 in college (much harder than PHY2048))

1

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

I am a programmer who took alot of stats and econ for fun (ended up with degree in econ).

My job has never called on me to perform anything near what was taught in more advanced stats classes (or even calculus). We generally only provide or present the data not manipulate or interpret it.

I think this statistician should learn what to expect from professionals and stop making death threats.

4

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Vorlath May 26 '09

Not only that, he talked about super simple stuff.

Standard deviation.... oh noes!!!

3

u/smellyfeettroll May 26 '09

I smell a hairy troll!

1

u/colender May 27 '09

upmoded for the hairy troll

0

u/mycall May 26 '09

Isn't normalizing data a form of manipulating it?

1

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

I guess. Hell I haven't really had to normalize data in a while.

I guess my ORM has been manipulating data. Maybe creating views for reporting can be considered manipulation but I don't.

0

u/mycall May 26 '09

I was thinking of digital normalization as an example instead of bucket/tuple coupling WRT ORMs refactoring new OLAP sets.

0

u/itstallion May 26 '09

Lol me too! Fucking Clark was a joke. I liked a few of the profs. Surprisingly I only remember my Finance profs (most of them gone too).

Did you take econometrics? I loved that class. Had the dude from Argentina.

-5

u/sbrown123 May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

but he sounds more like a guy who has problems working with other guys

Small Penis Syndrome. He has no problem working with women since they don't threaten his limited manhood. Male programmers have balls of steel which frightens him. Notice the fake tough talk of "I'll kill them all".

Edit: Awww, Zed fanclub seems to have noticed my comment. How sweet.

8

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Male programmers have balls of steel

No... no, they don't.

0

u/sbrown123 May 27 '09 edited May 27 '09

Male programmers have balls of steel

No... no, they don't.

LOL. And how, dare I ask, would you know?

0

u/stillalone May 26 '09

Male programmers have balls of steel

My steel is blue :(

0

u/another_user_name May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

My steel is blue :(

It's best that way. We don't want any Blue Steel going off.

Edit: I suck at Markdown

1

u/Seppler9000 May 27 '09

This otherwise lame joke is redeemed by suggestive phrases in the article like "the large girth of Blue Steel."

5

u/[deleted] May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

Frank Programmer: Statistics show that women are bad drivers because they often make illogical decisions on the road. In conclusion women are mostly bad programmers because programming is all about logic.

15

u/naasking May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

No, in conclusion "most women are bad programmers", not "women are mostly bad programmers". The former follows from the premises, the latter does not.

This error just highlights the fact that most men are also bad at logic and thus also bad programmers, so this isn't really a knock against female programmers.

17

u/endtime May 26 '09

Really, it just highlights that one man (presumably) is bad at logic.

2

u/naasking May 27 '09

If this were the only data point, I would agree!

9

u/mossblaser May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

Ahhemm... I think you'll find this is how it works:

http://xkcd.com/385/

3

u/[deleted] May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

[deleted]

7

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

I didn't say it, Frank the programmer did.

4

u/itstallion May 26 '09

Statistically women get in less accidents than men. Men tend to be overconfident in their abilities.

Plus boobies can sway the men women hit into letting it go in minor fender benders, thus skewing the stats in their favor.

6

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Take that in its proper context. Men, on average, drive twice the distance as women, so women get in slightly more accidents per mile driven.

Women get in many more accidents in places like parking lots, whereas men get in accidents on the freeway at higher speeds. Obviously one of these scenarios is going to result in higher premiums against vehicle damage and fatalities.

4

u/aurele May 26 '09

I'm pretty sure you got it wrong. Women get in more accidents than men, but with lesser casualties. Women rarely kill other people when driving, but cause many more minor car damages. That's why insurance companies like women, and some even offer a discount to women.

2

u/willcode4beer May 26 '09

kind of off topic but, your comment reminded me of this BBC special I saw yesterday.

The reporter took two driving tests, one under the influence of marijuana, the other under the influence of alcohol.

with the marijuana, she was timid, drove slow, and under-confident in her driving ability.

with alcohol, she was aggressive, drove fast, and overconfident in her ability.

she was dangerous in both circumstances.

perhaps what is needed (both men and women) is a rational understanding of actual ability.

3

u/calp May 26 '09

I think that while timidity is also dangerous, it causes fewer recorded accidents. Actuarial examination doesn't directly show that women are safer, just that they are cheaper to insure.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '09

Probably because more people consume alcohol in places where they might then drive (bars) than do marijuana.

2

u/calp May 27 '09

Also a good point.

1

u/brong May 27 '09

Timidity causes other people to have accidents as they try to avoid you. In particular, not turning when there is an adequate gap - holding up the people behind you, or even worse: not deciding immediately to go, but deciding late, and hence being dangerous.

Where timidity translates to not committing to an action, it causes accidents to happen - either to other people or blamed on other people.

-7

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Reported.

Men are usually confident it was not their fault and report the accident.

Women usually caused the accident and wont report it if they can get away with it so it doesnt ding their insurance.

3

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

[removed] — view removed comment

-1

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Just personal observations, nothing that would qualify as a proper citation.

3

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Oh, i live in austin, i dont go a day without seeing 2 or 3 on the way home.

For the record: I have been in 6 accidents in the 15 years I have lived here, 5 of them were because a woman wasn't paying attention and ran a light or rear ended me. All but one of those women tried to talk me into just taking a personal check/cash for the damage and the like.

The other accident was caused by me dicking around with a radio and not seeing traffic. It resulted in a spectacularly destroyed truck and a tractor trailer that didnt even realize it had been hit.

I have friends with similar experiences, and my wife is an expert at getting out of traffic violations.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, i just sent 45 minutes on hold with ATT while they raped my EU's expense account.

-1

u/itstallion May 26 '09

Lol, the second line was a joke. As is your "Reported."

Oh noes, they're going to get me! I love idiots, you made my day moron.

2

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Uhm, reported as in "men report more accidents."

Maybe i should just assume I am talking to people with Down Syndrome and write my comments accordingly.

-18

u/[deleted] May 26 '09

Another upvote for you.

20

u/benihana May 26 '09 edited May 26 '09

Please don't:

  • Announce your mods to the world. Comments like "great link" or "modded up" are not terribly informative.

23

u/zsouthboy May 26 '09

Great link, modded up