Statistics are everywhere–and they’re increasingly used to drive decisions around the globe. Baseball statistics guru Bill James is coming to Longwood for the annual Simkins Lecture on April 23, so the math department put together some of their favorite uses of statistics in the real and sports worlds.

Because we can prove that Babe Ruth is the greatest of all time.

Babe Ruth Stamp

And we can prove it over and over again.

Because snow outside doesn’t necessarily mean the whole world is colder.

Calvin and Hobbes in the Snow GIF

Who can define “polar vortex”?

Because our favorite NBA stars know where to stand to hit shots.

NBA GIF

And who can stop Lebron from scoring in the paint.

Because it can get us into March Madness.

March Madness

Or at least beat the other LU. And it may even help us win our office pool.

Because we can see how the world is changing.

Smaller Families, Longer Lives Graph

Smaller families, longer lives.

Because Jonah Hill can outshine Brad Pitt.

Jonah Hill GIF

A win for geeks everywhere.

 

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