9354592 Snell CHANCE is a course designed to teach fundamental ideas of probability and statistics in the context of real world questions of current interest. Such questions might include: Do basketball players tend to shoot in streaks? Do lefties die younger than righties? How reliable are opinion polls? Do men tend to die just before their birthdays and women just after them? Does lowering your cholesterol make you more likely to die by murder, accident, or suicide? CHANCE students learn that with the help of basic notions of probability and statistics, they can think critically for themselves about issues such as these. Teaching a CHANCE course only requires a solid knowledge of probability and statistics, boundless enthusiasm, the time and energy needed to keep up with the news, a receptive administration, a good library, and a willingness to plunge into uncharted territory. Materials are being developed and online resources are available by computer network that will make it significantly simpler to institute and teach a CHANCE course.
