4:10 comes early, or, statistics

I have an advanced statistics class in my M.Ed. program during summer session. I laugh when I say this because I've never taken "basic" statistics. I've never taken a class like this anytime, anywhere. Oh, I rocked it in FIT (Federal Income Tax) in law school, and I was the queen of Real Property too, so I've taken some pretty esoteric and challenging coursework. But statistics? What? Me? But sometimes, you just have to go with the flow. The guy who sits behind me does not have Zen about this. He keeps mumbling, "I don't have time to study for this. I need to talk problems out. This symbology doesn't mean anything to me." Well, Mr. Middle School Adminstrator, I have news. 1. No one has time to study for this. That's why I got up at 4:10 on a Saturday morning to work on my problem set. 2. Everyone needs to talk problems out but class is not time to do it. Two words: study group. 3. You need to find a way to move past sigma and mu and just roll with the big picture. Statistics have meaning. And in a small way, beauty. As long as you don't fight it, it can be a very profound experience.