[Informatics] Bad Cow Jokes (Factors that harm accuracy)

Wed Sep 7 21:44:01 AEST 2016

Good idea.

It's always good to review the cowriculum.
Especially now that we are more than heiferway (or is 'hoofway'?) through
the year.

Are the any Cow Knowledge dotpoints or Cow Skills that people want to focus
on?

Mook

On Wednesday, 7 September 2016, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Lets moooooove onto exam revision then.
>
> On 5 September 2016 at 08:44, Paragreen, Chris J <
> paragreen.chris.j at edumail.vic.gov.au
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','paragreen.chris.j at edumail.vic.gov.au');>>
> wrote:
>
>> We need to do something, or we’ll be discussing it until the cows come
>> home.
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au');>
>> [mailto:informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au');>] *On
>> Behalf Of *ATKINSON-BUCK, Damien
>> *Sent:* Monday, 5 September 2016 7:43 AM
>> *To:* Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List <
>> informatics at edulists.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','informatics at edulists.com.au');>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Informatics] Factors that harm accuracy. (Warning - bad
>> cow jokes.)
>>
>>
>>
>> Has this thread been milked too far? I wonder if we should put a steak
>> through it?
>>
>>
>>
>> *Damien Atkinson-Buck*
>> Head of Learning Area: Technology/Arts
>>
>> [image: http://www.ivanhoe.com.au] <http://www.ivanhoe.com.au/>
>>
>> The Ridgeway, Ivanhoe VIC 3079 Australia
>>
>> p. +61 3 9490 3848
>>
>> e. damien.atkinson-buck at ivanhoe.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','damien.atkinson-buck at ivanhoe.com.au');>
>>
>> w. www.ivanhoe.com.au
>>
>> <http://www.facebook.com/IvanhoeGrammarSchool>
>> <http://twitter.com/ivanhoegrammar>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Mark [mailto:mark at vceit.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mark at vceit.com');>]
>> *Sent:* Sunday, 4 September 2016 9:48 PM
>> *To:* Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List <
>> informatics at edulists.com.au
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','informatics at edulists.com.au');>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Informatics] Factors that harm accuracy. (Warning - bad
>> cow jokes.)
>>
>>
>>
>> Hang on. I'll get my cowculator...
>>
>> On Sunday, 4 September 2016, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rgesthuizen at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>
>> Don't believe a word the dog says, he only provided a ruff estimate and
>> is a paw source of primary data.
>>
>>
>>
>> Pull on those wellies and count the cows yourself.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4 September 2016 at 21:10, Mark <mark at vceit.com> wrote:
>>
>> So you're saying that a dog performing maths is inaccurate, but a talking
>> dog is incorrect?
>>
>>
>>
>> Interesting philosophical point...
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, 4 September 2016, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hmm, you could add this to the list.
>>
>>
>>
>> After a talking farm dog gets all the cows into the milking shed, he
>> reports back to the farmer: “All 40 accounted for.”
>>
>>
>>
>> “But I only have 36 cows,” says the farmer.
>>
>>
>>
>> “I know,” says the dog. “But I rounded them up.”
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2 September 2016 at 15:01, Mark <mark at vceit.com
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mark at vceit.com');>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi, accurate ones,
>>
>>
>>
>> Following on from the recent fist fight about accuracy vs correctness,
>> today I have been pondering...
>>
>>
>>
>> *ITI U3O2KK05 - "criteria to check the integrity of data including ...
>> accuracy"*
>>
>>
>>
>> I started wondering about factors that might affect the *accuracy* of
>> data or information.
>>
>>
>>
>> N.B. *Not* 'correctness'. Or 'precision'.
>>
>>
>>
>> Let's accept that data are an abstract representation of phenomena in the
>> real world, such as "There are four cows in the top paddock."
>>
>>
>>
>> The actual cows are the reality.
>>
>> The recorded number of them is the data.
>>
>>
>>
>> The data representing this cow fact might be - or become - inaccurate due
>> to:
>>
>>
>>
>> - going out of date - the state of the real world has changed (a few new
>> cows were put into the paddock) but the data has not been updated to
>> reflect that change.
>> Or the number of cows had been copied from one database to a mirrored
>> site, but the mirror has not been synchronised recently with the master
>> copy so the mirror is no longer representative of the true current size of
>> the herd of cows*.
>>
>>
>>
>> - being damaged - someone accidentally or deliberately changes the text
>> "4 cows" to "40 cows".
>> Or disk rot caused the recorded data to be misread by the digital system.
>>
>>
>>
>> - poor initial data collection - the cows were counted by someone
>> glancing out of the window of a fast-moving car, or the cows kept moving
>> about and some were counted twice.
>>
>>
>>
>> - an unreliable data source - there were not four cows: they were goats.
>> The data came from an idiot in the city who could not tell the difference.
>>
>>
>>
>> - bias - the cow-counter had some reason to misrepresent the true number
>> of cows in the top paddock, e.g. to reduce his tax bill, or to impress the
>> milk maid next door.
>>
>>
>>
>> - faulty data processing - the wrong formula was used in the spreadsheet
>> that added up the number of cows.
>>
>>
>>
>> - poor validation - the number of cows was entered into the software as
>> "four" instead of "4". The software was not expecting text, and - because
>> there were no recognisable digits - its *VAL(numCows)* function
>> converted the word "four" into a numeric value of zero.
>>
>>
>>
>> - translation or conversion errors - the reader of the data did not speak
>> English and relied on an incorrect electronic translation of the text.
>>
>> Or the text said "There are 4 (four) cows" and a careless data entry
>> person entered "There are 4 (4) cows" which was later turned into "There
>> are 44 cows".
>>
>> Or poor optical character recognition of "4 cows" became "9 cows".
>>
>>
>>
>> True story: I was listening to an audiobook about the history of space
>> travel and was astounded to hear that "Apollo Two landed on the moon." It
>> took me a while to realise that the text must have been "Apollo 11 landed
>> on the moon" but the narrator mistook "11" for the Roman numerals "II".
>> Sadly, no cows were involved.
>>
>>
>>
>> Can anyone think of other interesting ways in which data/info accuracy
>> may be reduced ?
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Notes:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. This post is cow-neutral. I have NO bovine agenda. It is true that I
>> did help milk cows when I lived on a dairy farm in Yarrawalla while
>> teaching in Boort (1980-1985) but there was NO inappropriate activity,
>> *especially* with cow 1056. Rumours to the contrary are udderly untrue,
>> in spite of what Doris might moo.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. To comply with the federal *Cow Comedy Act (1953)*, I am obliged to
>> refer you to the anthem: Cows with Guns
>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMbXvn2RNI>.
>>
>>
>>
>> * Herd of cows? Of course I've heard of cows. Bad cow pun.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>> mark at vceit.com <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mark at vceit.com');>
>>
>> http://vceit.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
>> VCE Informatics Mailing List kindly supported by
>> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html -
>> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority <br>
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>> Teachers Association Inc <br>
>> http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/schools - Swinburne University
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> --
>> *Roland Gesthuizen*
>> http://about.me/rgesthuizen
>>
>>
>> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
>> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
>> Mead
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>> mark at vceit.com
>>
>> http://vceit.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
>> VCE Informatics Mailing List kindly supported by
>> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html -
>> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority <br>
>> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology
>> Teachers Association Inc <br>
>> http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/schools - Swinburne University
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> --
>> *Roland Gesthuizen*
>> http://about.me/rgesthuizen
>>
>>
>> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
>> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
>> Mead
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>> mark at vceit.com <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mark at vceit.com');>
>>
>> http://vceit.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> _______________________________________________
>> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
>> VCE Informatics Mailing List kindly supported by
>> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html -
>> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority <br>
>> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology
>> Teachers Association Inc <br>
>> http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/schools - Swinburne University
>>
>
>
>
> --
> --
> *Roland Gesthuizen*
> http://about.me/rgesthuizen
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
> Mead
>

-- 

Mark Kelly

mark at vceit.com
http://vceit.com
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