Factfulness, Ten reasons we’re wrong about the world – and why things are better than you think by Hans Rosling (with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund) Hans Rosling is the person who introduced me to Ted Talks, with this classic talk on visualising the world through statistics. I’ve used it aContinue Reading
The Sydney Morning Herald published its annual analysis of public and private school enrolments last week. So I thought I’d have a look behind the stats to see if there is more nuance when you dive a little deeper. The Herald’s key message was: An annual stocktake of the nation’sContinue Reading
Prompted by a friend, I’ve been taking a look at the data for NSW school suspensions, particularly for aboriginal students. You have to get deep into the NSW Board of Education website to do this (and convert pdfs into excel spreadsheets!) but it is worth it. In Australia, we haveContinue Reading
Last week Ross Gittins wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that the decades long drift from public to private schools has ended. Figures released by the Bureau of Statistics last month show that 65 per cent of our 3.8 million students went to public schools in 2016, the same proportion asContinue Reading
This is a guest post from Martin Mulcare. Thanks Martin for taking up my challenge! And it is nice to see that ours isn’t the only family that finds this an interesting enough topic for the dinner table. Jennifer’s latest Actuarial Eye blogpost caught my attention and I have takenContinue Reading
Last month, I did a bit of analysis of maths study in NSW, which has caused a fair bit of interest in my maths loving friends and colleagues. I analysed the change in maths study over the last 25 years in NSW. Back in 1991, Maths extension 1 (known thenContinue Reading
Inspired by GeekinSydney‘s recent post about HSC subjects, I took a deep dive into HSC study statistics this weekend. What I found was a bit scary for anyone who is looking for a future mathematically inclined workforce. Since 2001, when maths stopped being compulsory, the numbers of students studying mathsContinue Reading
I’ve been challenged by my fellow blogger Geek in Sydney to write about the recent public and private school data from the ABS. The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that the Exodus from public to private schools stops. They report, According to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday, 65.2Continue Reading
When I did the actuarial exams, the top tip from my study mentors was: There is always a mark for tax. And it was true. So in this coming exam season, my advice to all the students I know (plus any reading this blog) is the same. In almost everyContinue Reading
This video from Harvard philosopher Professor Michael Sandel talks about Justice. What is a fair start in life? How should you think about fairness? He asks his students about their start at Harvard. How did they get there? Was it privilege or hard work? After most of them agree theyContinue Reading