Anecdotal vs. Statistical Evidence

This morning I went out for my usual morning bicycle ride. I love being out on my bike as it reminds me of the freedom I felt as a kid. Unfortunately not everyone shares in my excitement and I had a number of cars get way to close for comfort. I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep up the daily rides. Getting run off the road by inattentive drivers is never fun and has a tendency to shorten one's lifespan.

Utah law states that drivers cannot be any closer than 3 feet to cyclists on the street. Furthermore cyclists with wheels of a certain size are not allowed on sidewalks and are required to ride in the road. You'd be amazed at how many times I have had motorists tell me to ride on the sidewalk. Unfortunately it is illegal.

Today I had 3 different motorists see how close they could get to me on my bike. When I can feel the car with my elbow hairs, I think it is well inside that 3-foot limit cars are supposed to provide. Here is where statistics come to play in the story: Every single one of the cars that got too close had a University of Utah license plate. Ask me how I feel about the University of Utah right now.

Fortunately I spend my days working with data and know the difference between anecdotal and statistical evidence. Not everyone from the University of Utah is out to kill cyclists or scare the pants off them. The very small sample size of today's clueless drivers just happens to pull from a lot of University of Utah fans. I'm sure if I had been riding my bicycle a little further to the south and nearer to Brigham Young University, the license plates could easily have promoted that school.

The important thing to remember is that you experience with an easily identifiable group of people does not represent everyone in that group. Nowadays it is much too easy to apply labels and exclude large groups of people because of an unsavory experience with only a few members of that group. Knowing that doesn't make it easy to forgive them though. 

Mentoring

Last night I flew home from the Bay Area so I could see my daughter dance at BYU's Christmas Around the World. One of the regulars who also lives in Salt Lake but works in San Francisco joined me on the flight. It worked out well because he gave me a ride home from the airport and that gave us a chance to talk.

Yesterday was a traumatic day from my fellow commuter. He works for an animation studio and one of his fellow animators was let go. The reason for being fired was because the animator had failed to keep up with the latest technology. New guys were coming in and running circles around him. He had been warned but failed to act and was now paying the price.

My friend and I discussed how to keep from becoming irrelevant in the constantly changing hi-tech industries in which we work. Interestingly enough, we both came to the same conclusion. Both of us have taken fellow co-workers under our wings to help mentor. In return, those that we are mentoring are helping us by showing us all of the latest technologies. It is a win-win situation for all parties. Mentoring is often seen as someone with experience helping a novice, but that isn't the only help taking place.