1. Systematic Study of Social Life Empirical Evidence Data Innumeracy Sociological Imagination Why Go to College?

2. 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.

3. 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?

4. Answers 1. Population of the US  303 Million 2. Population of the World  6.6 Billion 3. 2008 summer Olympics:  Beijing/China 4. Median US Household Income  $48,201  ($53,515 Washington State) 5. Value of The Dow Jones Industrial Average  12,589 6. How many ipods sold in  100 Million (October 2007) 7. Iowa Presidential Caucuses  Barack Obama (Democrat) Mike Huckabee (Republican) 8. # of members of the US armed forces who have died in Iraq  3912 9. Murders in Seattle in 2006  30

5. Your Answers Mean 1,777,358,209 (1.77 x 10 9 ) Median 300,000,000 (3.0 x 10 8 ) Mode 300,000,000 (2 x 10 8 ) Max 50,000,000,000 (6.0 x 10 10 ) Min 2,000,000 (2.0 x 10 6 ) Valid = 83% US population: (303,000,000) (US Census Bureau)

6. Your Answers Mean 15,918,031,742,424 (1.59 x 10 13 ) Median 6,300,000,000 (6 x 10 9 ) Mode 6,000,000,000 (6 x 10 9 ) Max 900,000,000,000,000 (9.0 x 10 14 ) Min 565,000,000 (5.6 x 10 8 ) Valid 81% Population of the World () Population of the World (6,642,859,075) (US Census Bureau)

7. Estimates of US population and World Population

8. Your Answers Mean $53,901 Median $50,000 Mode $60,000 Max $500,000 Min2 Valid 88% Median US Household income ($48,200) (US Census Bureau)

9. Your Answers  Dow Jones Industrial Average ( 12,589) (New York Times 01/09/08) Mean95,189,080 Median5,000 Mode20,000 Max2,500,000,000 Min1

10. Your Answers Mean 148,755,877,750 Median100,000,000 Mode 1,000,000,000 Max5,000,000,000,000 Min3 Valid =54% IPODS sold: 119,000,000 (as of 10/07 Apple Computer)

11. Your Answers Mean54,755 Median5,000 Mode3,000 Max1,000,000 Min115 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq during this war: 3912 (Iraq Coalition Casualty Report)

12. Your Answers Murders in Seattle 2006: 30 (Seattle Police Department) Mean606 Median75 Mode20 Max10,000 Min3 Valid = 58%

13. Estimates of Deaths in Iraq and Murder in Seattle

14. Innumeracy – Scales of Magnitude  ten thousand 10,000 (1 x 10 4 )  one million1,000,000 (1 x 10 6 )  one billion 1,000,000,000 (1 x 10 9 )  one trillion 1,000,000,000,000 (1 x 10 12 )

15. Why are our estimates often so far off?

16. 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

17. To Do Read: Getting Started Twilight of the books School Enrollment Key Concepts Sociological Imagination Empirical Evidence Social Species Free Rider To Do:

18. Bring your papers to section this week!!