Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Error bars!

Law of large numbers says that your error should scale like 1/sqrt(N) where N is the sample size. In this case N = 1000, so 1/sqrt(N) ~ 3%

This measures 1 STD (68% of values lie in an interval of 3% of reported value). To be on the safe side you should take 2 or 3 STDs for the error bars. This already nullifies most of the results!



Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: