Re: Maxima by example, volume 2 : Guide to Descriptive Statistics for One-Variable Series

Ted passed away in October of last year. There is more information about him on his web page: https://home.csulb.edu/~woollett/

Eric

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From: Michel Gosse <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 11:44 AM
To: Barton Willis
Cc: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Maxima-discuss] Maxima by example, volume 2 : Guide to Descriptive Statistics for One-Variable Series

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Oh yes, Ted's works are excellent and are references on Maxima. I'll just modify the collection title to avoid any confusion.

The manual is then called "Guide for..." which is different. Sorry and apologies, Ted.

Le lun. 20 avr. 2026 à 18:34, Barton Willis <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> a écrit :
FYI: Ted Woollett is the author of another Maxima by Example<https://home.csulb.edu/~woollett/mbe.html> book.

--Barton
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From: Henry Baker <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 9:51 AM
To: Michel Gosse <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>; David Kirkby <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Cc: <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: Re: [Maxima-discuss] Maxima by example, volume 2 : Guide to Descriptive Statistics for One-Variable Series

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I would like to add another good reason for statistics in Maxima:



If I'm *learning* about the math used in statistics, I'd like to utilize symbolic algebra *together with* numeric algebra in order to gain insight into how the formulae work.



For example, one might utilize symbolic algebra to gain insight into how *sensitive* a result is to its input data.



I've had this same problem with AI software: when I'm learning how the basic math works, I don't care about running models with 10 billion parameters -- I'd like to run models with 5, 10, 50, 100 parameters in order to gain insight into the math.  In these smaller cases, I might also like to play with symbolic parameters.



-----Original Message-----
From: Michel Gosse <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Sent: Apr 20, 2026 12:27 AM
To: David Kirkby <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Cc: <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: Re: [Maxima-discuss] Maxima by example, volume 2 : Guide to Descriptive Statistics for One-Variable Series



Obviously, R is the essential software for any scientist working with data. Maxima is not the best tool in this case, and we all agree on that.

So, what interest do we have in using Maxima to handle a few simple statistical situations?

  1.  If I only need to do a simple data analysis occasionally, it's easier to use a tool I already master rather than learning a new one. This requires a lot of time and practice... especially if I don't use it frequently.

  2.  For my students, they can submit answers in a wxMaxima notebook depending on the problems. This allows them to work on several mathematics problems across different topics and have all the answers in a single document that's easy to use.

  3.  For students, it's also unnecessary for them to learn R when they're in middle school or high school. Mastering Maxima is sufficient for exploring various mathematics (or physics) problems during their studies before the final high school exam.

In conclusion, the question asked relates to choosing a tool to solve a problem. Depending on the user's level, the problem's complexity, their knowledge, and the availability of software tools, the user will choose the most suitable one. Therefore, Maxima is suitable for handling certain simple statistical situations, but this depends on the user's experience and knowledge. The cost of learning a new software must also be considered.

Maxima does not replace highly specialized tools, and this applies to a large part of mathematical domains, but Maxima is a very good tool.

Have a good day

Michel

Le lun. 20 avr. 2026 à 00:12, David Kirkby via Maxima-discuss <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> a écrit :
On Sun, 19 Apr 2026 at 18:16, Michel Gosse <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
 i have just finished translated in english the volume 2 :
Guide to Descriptive Statistics for One-Variable Series

Is Maxima a good tool for statistics? I would have thought R a much better tool for that.

Dave.
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