Classes

Here you will find the slides from the classes and other supplementary material. Notice that some things are said but not written, so you better take good notes. We recommend taking notes with pen and paper using the Cornell Method.

• Class 1: Why? How?. (Feb 28, 2023). [Slides].
  What is the scientific method? Why do we care? How can we do better science?

• Class 2: How do we know what we know?. (Mar 1, 2023). [Slides].
  Where is the Truth?

• Class 3: Beyond perception. (Mar 2, 2023). [Slides].
  How do we know what we know.

• Class 4: What is Science?. (Mar 7, 2023). [Slides].
  What is the scientific method? Why do we care? How can we do better science?

• Class 5: How do we observe?. (Mar 8, 2022). [Slides].
  Learning to guess.

• Class 6: Divide and conquer. (Mar 9, 2023). [Slides].
  Enrico Fermi’s method.

• Class 7: Uncertainty. (Mar 14, 2023). [Slides].
  Error propagation

• Class 8: Interval Arithmetic. (Mar 15, 2023). [Slides].
  Handling uncertainty carefully.

• Class 9: Practice. (Mar 16, 2023). [Slides].
  Error propagation in complex questions.

• Class 10: Error propagation. (Mar 21, 2023). [Slides].
  Handling uncertainty.

• Class 11: Statistical uncertainty. (Mar 22, 2023). [Slides].
  Noise.

• Class 12: The Barometer Story. (Mar 23, 2023). [Slides].
  How can we measure things. Buildings, barometers.

• Class 13: Descriptive Statistics. (Mar 28, 2023). [Slides].
  Location, location, location. Why median or mean?

• Class 14: Dispersion. (Mar 30, 2023). [Slides].
  Location, location, location. Why median or mean?

• Class 15: Linear Models. (Apr 4, 2023). [Slides].
  Location, location, location. Why median or mean?

• Class 16: Practice Linear Models. (Apr 5, 2023). [Slides].
  Semi logarithmic Models, and fitting exponential growth

• Class 17: Exponential Models. (Apr 6, 2023). [Slides].

• Class 18: Solution to Homework. (Apr 11, 2023). [Slides].
  How to float a house with helium

• Class 19: Evaluating linear models. (Apr 12, 2023). [Slides].
  How to float a house with helium

• Class 20: Many variables in linear models. (Apr 13, 2023). [Slides].
  Combining independent variables. Polynomial models.

• Class 21: Review Midterm Exam. (Apr 25, 2023). [Slides].
  What answers were received, and how they could have been better

• Class 22: Logic. (Apr 27, 2023). [Slides].
  How to know what is true.

• Class 23: Logical arguments. (Apr 28, 2023). [Slides].
  An argument can be correct and false.

• Class 24: Introduction to Probabilities. (May 2, 2023). [Slides].
  An extension of logic.

• Class 25: Probabilities of complex events. (May 3, 2023). [Slides].
  Divide and conquer.

• Class 26: Bayes’ Theorem. (May 5, 2023). [Slides].
  Why everybody needs to learn (some) math.

• Class 27: Binomial Distribution. (May 9, 2023). [Slides].
  Why everybody needs to learn (some) math.

• Class 29: Expected value and population variance. (May 16, 2023). [Slides].
  Random variables.

• Class 30: Law of Large Numbers. (May 17, 2023). [Slides].
  Random variables.

• Class 31: Central Limit Theorem. (May 18, 2023). [Slides].
  What happens when 𝑛 is large? Can we have narrower intervals? Can we know better?

• Class 33: P-values. (May 25, 2023). [Slides].
  Is this a zero?

• Class 34: Hypothesis test. (May 25, 2023). [Slides].
  Is this a zero?

Homework

Homework is an integral part of this course, since we want to match theory and practice. Besides, without practice we tend to forget more often. All homework should be sent to andres.aravena+msr@istanbul.edu.tr before the deadline to get a grade. Please be careful, otherwise you will get a grade zero.

• Homework 1 (Deadline: Tuesday 7 of March at 14:00).
  What is Science, according to you?
• Homework 2 (Deadline: Thursday 9 of March at 11:00).
  Is the Earth flat?
• Homework 3 (Deadline: Midterm exam date).
  Ask good questions
• Homework 4 (Deadline: Thursday 16 of March at 10:00).
  Handle large numbers
• Homework 5 (Deadline: Thursday 23 of March at 10:00).
  Practice interval arithmetic
• Homework 6 (Deadline: Thursday 30 of March at 10:00).
  What is the weight of this ferry?
• Homework 7 (Deadline: Tuesday 11 of April at 14:00).
  Making a house fly using balloons.
• Homework 8 (Deadline: Tuesday 9 of May at 15:00).
  Test your logic skills.
• Homework 9 (Deadline: Wednesday 24 of May at 14:00).
  Test your probabilistic skills.

Attendance

By regulation from the Rectory, students need to attend at least 70% of the classes. If you cannot attend, you must deliver all homework on time. Late submissions will not be accepted.

The attendance book is updated every class and can be seen in Google Sheets.

Plan

• The Scientific method
• How do we measure things
  • counting
  • measuring is comparing to a reference
  • measurements are numbers with units
  • estimating the order of magnitude
  • margin of error
  • error propagation
• How to design a good experiment: Analyze before doing the experiment
  • See what are the important variables
  • See what are the error sources
  • See if the experiment can really answer your question

Supplementary material