Systematic Study of Social Life

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Systematic Study of Social Life

• Empirical Evidence
• Data
• Innumeracy
• Sociological Imagination
• Why Go to College?

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What is Empirical Evidence?

• Evidence acquired through direct observation,
  preferably under controlled circumstances, with
  results reported in well-defined units of measure
  
• Data
• Contrasts Intuitive insight, metaphysical
  speculation, and pure logic.

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General Information Questions

1. What is the population of the United States?
2. What is the population of the World?
3. Where will the 2008 Summer Olympics be held?
4. What is the median household income in the United
   States?
5. What is the approximate value of the Dow Jones
   Industrial Average?
6. How many ipods have been sold?
7. Who won the Iowa presidential caucuses?
8. How many members of the US armed forces have died
   in Iraq since the beginning of the current war
   there?
9. How many murders were committed in Seattle in
   2006?

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Answers

• Population of the US
• 303 Million
• Population of the World
• 6.6 Billion
• 2008 summer Olympics
• Beijing/China
• Median US Household Income
• 48,201
• (53,515 Washington State)
• Value of The Dow Jones Industrial Average
• 12,589
• How many ipods sold in
• 100 Million (October 2007)
• Iowa Presidential Caucuses
• Barack Obama (Democrat) Mike Huckabee
  (Republican)
• of members of the US armed forces who have died
  in Iraq
• 3912
• Murders in Seattle in 2006
• 30

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Your Answers
US population (303,000,000) (US Census Bureau)

• Mean 1,777,358,209 (1.77 x 109)
• Median
• 300,000,000 (3.0 x 108)
• Mode 300,000,000 (2 x 108)
• Max 50,000,000,000 (6.0 x 1010)
• Min
• 2,000,000 (2.0 x 106)
• Valid 83

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Your Answers
Population of the World (6,642,859,075) (US
Census Bureau)

• Mean
• 15,918,031,742,424 (1.59 x 1013)
• Median
• 6,300,000,000 (6 x 109)
• Mode
• 6,000,000,000 (6 x 109)
• Max
• 900,000,000,000,000 (9.0 x 1014)
• Min
• 565,000,000 (5.6 x 108)
• Valid 81

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Estimates of US population and World Population
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Your Answers
Median US Household income (48,200) (US Census
Bureau)

• Mean 53,901
• Median 50,000
• Mode 60,000
• Max 500,000
• Min 2
• Valid 88

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Your Answers

• Dow Jones Industrial Average (12,589)
• (New York Times 01/09/08)
• Mean 95,189,080
• Median 5,000
• Mode 20,000
• Max 2,500,000,000
• Min 1

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Your Answers
IPODS sold 119,000,000 (as of 10/07 Apple
Computer)

• Mean 148,755,877,750
• Median 100,000,000
• Mode 1,000,000,000
• Max 5,000,000,000,000
• Min 3
• Valid 54

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Your Answers
US Soldiers Killed in Iraq during this war 3912
(Iraq Coalition Casualty Report)

• Mean 54,755
• Median 5,000
• Mode 3,000
• Max 1,000,000
• Min 115

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Your Answers
Murders in Seattle 2006 30 (Seattle Police
Department)

• Mean 606
• Median 75
• Mode 20
• Max 10,000
• Min 3
• Valid 58

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Estimates of Deaths in Iraq and Murder in Seattle
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Innumeracy Scales of Magnitude

• ten thousand 10,000 (1 x 104)
• one million 1,000,000 (1 x 106)
• one billion 1,000,000,000 (1 x 109)
• one trillion 1,000,000,000,000 (1 x 1012)

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Why are our estimates often so far off?
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How long would it take.

• For ten thousand seconds to pass?
• 3 hours
• For one million seconds to pass?
• 11 .5 days
• For one billion seconds to pass?
• 31.7 years
• For one trillion seconds to pass?
• 31,700 years
• Want to learn more about the scale of numbers?
  Read Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos 

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To Do
To Do

• Read
• Getting Started
• Twilight of the books
• School Enrollment
• Key Concepts
• Sociological Imagination
• Empirical Evidence
• Social Species
• Free Rider

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Bring your papers to section this week!!