As you know, B has been here since Tuesday night, and we've been having a lovely time. Even getting up early and hanging out at the French consulate for several hours wasn't that bad, and she successfully procured her visa, which was the main point of the trip (other than to soak up my glorious presence). Today we're off to have lunch with another friend from college and then maybe do some silly touristy things like take a boat cruise around the bay, which I've actually never done before.
Last night in Applied Econometrics we talked about how to regress against binary dependent variables. Wait, stay with me for a minute--all that it means is that the thing you're trying to explain has only two possible outcomes, like a yes/no question. So whereas in a normal regression, you're using all your independent variables to try to explain some continuous dependent variable (say, explaining birth rates based on per capita GDP and infant mortality rates, where birth rates, of course, can take on any value along a continuous scale), with a binary dependent variables, you're using your independent variables to explain something like whether or not a person got access to credit (yes or no are the only two possible answers). It's kind of cool, because the way that you do it is to sort of put the regression equation inside of this density function with particular properties, and find the point on that function that maximizes the likelihood that the results that you actually got are the results that you would get using your equation. And the coolest part is that the computer basically does all this work for you, and all you need to do is understand the results that it's giving you and how to interpret them. I wouldn't say that I like econometrics, but at least it's finally being taught to me by a professor that I like (Dr. J, the guy I TA for) in a way that I find intuitively easy to understand.
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4 comments:
Kiss kiss to B. I hope you two have fun.
PS - I'm starting to feel like I'm not nearly nerdy enough to read this blog!
i guess maybe the point of the blog is to make you be nerdier. or at least broaden your horizons. you (by which i mean both you specifically, rebel, and my friends in general) have certainly broadened my horizons. i know much more about knitting, baking, grants, psychology, etc. than i would if i didn't know you. i try to make it interesting, but i know i don't always succeed. i'll try to talk more about my other class, which should be much more interesting.
Oh! R never think that you are not nerdy enough, you are just nerdy in different ways, and that is why we love you!!!
J -- I had so much fun in San Fran -- I loved it!! I really do need to come back to do some research in the forthcoming year (or so) so perhaps we can enjoy being roomies again. I'm just pleased that I was the very first to get to share your bed!! Love, B
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