prob-stats

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★ 2026-10-06 · statology.org

5 Statsmodels Functions That Give You the "Why" Behind the "What"

Statsmodels answers the questions sklearn was never built to answer: is this coefficient real or noise, does this added complexity earn its keep, can I trust these p-values in the first place, and which specific data points are quietly running the whole show.

Note: Run a regression in scikit-learn, and you get exactly two things back: a set of coefficients and a .predict() method. Ask it for a p-value on any of those coefficients, and there’s no built-in way to get one. This isn’t a missing feature scikit-learn’s maintainers overlooked; it’s a deliberate design choice they’ve stated directly: scikit-learn is built for prediction, not statistical inference…

2026-09-16 · gegell.github.io

Reversing Factorio's RNG

This post details how Factorio's random number generation works, how it can be reversed and how I used that knowledge to predict and manipulate the RNG with pure in‑game mechanics.

How is it possible for a deterministic game like Factorio to have a random mechanic?
PRNG
2026-07-01 · asteriskmag.com

In Praise of Observational Evidence

Everyone knows RCTs are the gold standard of evidence. ….Right?

It is a rare randomized trial (studying a particular intervention with a sufficiently large and well-distributed sample population) that can detect an 0.3% difference in a binary random variable — but Laplace could, more than 200 years ago.
You can be relatively sure that a p-value in one clinical trial conveys the same information as it does in another clinical trial, at least as far as the mathematical model is concerned.
2026-03-17 · scientificamerican.com

The false positive paradox explains why you misjudge risk

Here’s how a mathematical paradox distorts our view of news, safety and statistics

Welsh police learned this lesson the hard way during the 2017 Union of European Football Associations Champions League final. They deployed cameras throughout Cardiff, where the soccer event was held, and used automated facial-recognition software to analyze the footage. The software scanned the…
2026-01-22 · statology.org

Understanding Standard Deviation vs Standard Error

Understand the key differences between standard deviation and standard error with clear examples and practical applications.

The standard deviation measures the spread of individual data points in a sample from a population.
The standard error measures how well a sample mean represents the actual population mean—in other words, how uncertain we are about the sample mean.
2026-01-07 · marktechpost.com

Implementing Softmax From Scratch: Avoiding the Numerical Stability Trap - MarkTechPost

Learn about implementing Softmax from scratch and discover how to avoid the numerical stability trap in deep learning projects.

This function implements the Softmax activation in its most straightforward form.
numerically unstable—large positive logits can cause overflow, and large negative logits can underflow to zero. As a result, this version should be avoided in real training pipelines
2025-10-27 · statology.org

5 Effect Size Measures You’ll Actually Use

Learn to calculate and interpret five essential effect size measures with Python examples and clear guidance.

Cohen’s d — the standardized difference between two group means r (correlation coefficient) — the strength of a relationship between variables Odds ratio — how much more likely an outcome is in one group than another η² (eta squared) — how much of the total variance your variable explains Cliff’s…
2024-12-31 · statology.org

Statology's Most Popular Articles of 2024

Have a look at Statology's most popular articles of the year!

Note: Here are some of the most popular articles from Statology in 2024, along with brief summaries: 1. **5 of the Most Cited Statistical Papers of All Time** This article highlights five landmark statistical papers that have significantly influenced the field, including works by Kaplan and Meier, Cox, Bland and Altman, Duncan, and Marquardt. 2. **10 Essential Statistical Tests Explained in One…