MATH CLUB

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA

WHEN:     Friday, March 3, 2000 at 3:00 pm
WHERE:   Durham Science Center, Room 255
WHAT:

James Daly
of the Department of Mathematics, University of Colorado, Colorado Spring, CO,
will give a talk on
How to Construct The Best Histogram

ABSTRACT:
In graphing a set of date by means of a bar graph, what is the optimal number of bins/intervals for the histogram to best represent the information present?  If one uses Excel, for example, the default number of bins is one plus the square root of n, where n is the number of data points.  We will discuss the origins and history of this type of parametric algorithm.  A flexible non-parametric algorithm whose derivation involves wavelets will conclude the presentation.

A student whose background includes two semesters of calculus will be able to comprehend 95% of the talk.  A copy of the original paper on this subject will be distributed (1936 - 1 page).

Refreshments served 30 minutes prior to the talk in DSC 255