Beware the Signal in the Noise | Halloween T-shirt for Data Demons

BUY YOUR NEW FAVORITE HALLOWEEN SHIRT

We found a signal in the wavy noise.

💀 Kinda wish we hadn’t because it’s scary as hell. 💀

Grab this creepy Halloween t-shirt for your favorite statistician, data scientist, analyst, operational excellence professional, industrial engineer, or six sigma black belt.

It depicts a demon with evil eyes and sharp claws. Some analysts torture the data, but this data aims to torture the analyst.

This is our second signal and noise horror shirt. Here’s the other.

#IYKYK. If you don’t know…

Every dataset contains noise; only some contains signal, and you can’t rely on your lying eyes to tell the difference; a test is required.

But why do our eyes lie to us? Why are humans so notoriously bad at recognizing randomness? We want patterns. A hypothesis suggests we won our place at the apex of the food chain thanks to a superior ability to recognize patterns—even when there isn’t one. Why would false positives in pattern recognition help us?

Imagine two Pleistocene hunters, Grak and Krurk, headed back to their caves with fresh kills. Grak is prone to anxiety about the dangers of the savannah. Every snap, crackle, and pop causes Grak alarm followed by swift defensive turns, spear raised, ready to fight.

These many false positives only cost Grak a little time, of which he has plenty. And he doesn’t own a watch, so he’s fine.

Krurk, on the other hand, is living his best life. He ain’t worried. He’s chill because he understands that 99% of nature’s noises pose no threat to him. That is, they are mostly true negatives. As he strolls home, Krurk contemplates how best to prepare the fresh meat and impress the target of his affections. Perhaps a lime-based marinade could woo her.

Alas, Krurk’s time ran out. One of those noises was a false negative, let’s say a sabertooth tiger, and Krurk perished without siring children. It only took one false negative.

The megafauna culled most of the Krurks from the proto-human herd, leaving the Graks to pass on their DNA. Now we’re wired to spot patterns in everyday objects such as clouds and potato chips.

Data analysts needn’t worry about modern big cats. Instead we worry about false patterns in data that should only be attributed to randomness.

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Offered exclusively to QI Curiosities customers.

Here at Quality Improvement Curiosities, buying in small batches pays! Get an escalating discount when you buy multiple shirts in any combination. Buy 3-4 and get 15% off. Buy 5 and get 20% off. Buy 6+ and get 25% off.

Our comfy t-shirts are soft and lightweight with the right amount of stretch.

• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz./yd.² (142 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Blank product sourced from Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, or the US

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

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