Overheard on the Way to Coffee This Morning : Science After Sunclipse

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Blake Stacey is a physics boffin and science-fiction writer who wandered the Earth and eventually settled in the nation-state of Denial.

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Overheard on the Way to Coffee This Morning

Category: Mathematics • Wobosphere Silliness
Posted on: November 23, 2009 12:37 PM, by Blake Stacey

Q. Given two probability distribution functions, what is the Kolmogorov–Smirnoff test for comparing them?

A. How many shots of vodka you have to take for them to look alike.

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Comments

We could could turn this into a conversation about the p-value. But really, that's more of a beer thing than a vodka thing.

Posted by: Greg Laden | November 23, 2009 1:13 PM

Hey - a stats joke.

Being one myself (er, I mean a statistician, rather than a stats joke) I'd call the number of shots a test statistic rather than the test itself (which further involves a null and alternative hypothesis, a critical value or a p-value, and a decision).

Posted by: efrique | November 23, 2009 6:03 PM

We should also consider the possibility that the evaluator will pass out before reaching a conclusion, leading to a censored observation. Best to bring a few bottles and some friends to help repeat the experiment. ;-)

Posted by: EastwoodDC | November 25, 2009 2:35 PM