I did the dishes.

Posted by Adrian Barnett on Monday, June 8, 2020

My daughter loves a song by Parry Gripp called “I did the dishes”. The chorus is “I did the dishes, I’m a hero.”

I can’t work out if the song is trying to encourage kids to do the dishes, or if it’s making fun of people who think their housework is heroic, or a bit of both.

“Plates, done! Bowls, done! Gravy boat, done!”

I helped some people, I’m a hero

Here’s a screenshot of some my colleagues who I’ve helped with their statistics. It’s not everyone because there’s another bunch of people who are filed under hospital names and another bunch who are subfolders in these folders. Using people’s names makes it easy for me to find old work.

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Whenever a colleague sees this folder they almost always say, “Whoa! That’s a lot of people”. Statisticians get to work with a huge number of other scientists, and there’s a massive variety of projects in here.

Malaria, done! Caries, done! Birth outcomes, done!

A few people’s data were like paper plates, and my analysis left a soggy mush.

I’m showing this now because my computer needs a drastic clean out.

I’ve stretched this analogy far enough. The point is, if you fund statisticians, then lots of science get helped.