CHRIST BIRTH IN STABLE - COURTESY STATISTICIAN

This is the fourth post of the series 'Happy Days Gone by'. It talks about the third notch of the key to unlock the door to the glorious future - Talk about interesting books other than the text books on the subject. 

Science Faculty - Allahabad University

Happy Days Gone By

Introduction।। Students' Enthusiasm at Allahabad - Unparalleled।। God Does Not Exist।। Christ Birth In Stable - Courtesy Statistician।। The Unforgettable Teacher - Dr. RD Pathak।। Don't Worry, It Will Cool Down।। Can Parliament Abolish Constitution।। Fall from Grace।। We Shall Overcome।।

Ours was the first batch of Statistics. At that time and for some years to follow, some papers were common in Maths and Statistics. One day our teacher said that Mary and Joseph were residents of Nazareth. Mary could easily give birth to Jesus in all comforts of their cottage there but they had to go to Bethlehem, which was overcrowded as everyone was asked to come there; they did not get any place; they stayed in a stable, where Christ was born. 

"Really", we said. But then someone asked why they had to be in Bethlehem. His answer was "because of a crazy statistician'. 

Blah! we thought. 

"Don't believe me then read 'Facts From Figure' by MJ Moroney.” This is how we were introduced to this classic book on Statistics. I personally think it explains difficult concepts of Statistics in better ways than in any other book.

One day a teacher asked us, “If a couple has two children and one of them is a girl then what is the probability that the other one is also a girl – assuming that boys and girls are born with equal chance?”

We thought this one was easy and said half.

Teacher answered “No, it is one third.” We thought he was pulling a fast one. He did not tell us the reason for his answer but recommended a book titled ‘How to Take a Chance’  by Darrel Huff –  a classic on the topic. This led to another classic by the same author ‘How to lie with Statistics’. 

In physics, we had ‘Heat as a paper in BSc part-1. The most difficult part of it is the second law of thermodynamics. It states, ‘In a closed system, entropy increases.’’. Entropy is a measure of disorder and  broadly it means that in a closed system, things will proceed from order to disorder. 

After elaborating the point, the teacher asked if we believed in Darwin’s theory of evolution. On our affirmative answer, he said, if Darwin’s theory of evolution is correct then we are proceeding from lower order to higher order. If second law of thermodynamics is correct then Darwin’s theory is false. He never told us the answer but pointed out two good books on the same: 'One, Two, Three … Infinity' by George Gamow and Asimov on Physics.  

The aforesaid two books led us to the wonderful world of books written by these authors. They explain difficult scientific concepts lucidly.

Point-3. Good general books are often not prescribed in the syllabus. Teachers should tell students about them. They are good to clear the concept about difficult topics on the subject. 

BSc Class 1968-70 - The first batch with Physics, Mathematics and Statistics. 

#AllahabadUniversity #FactsFromFigure #HowToTakeAChance #OneTwoThree…Infinity #GoodTeacher