Some Examples and Experiments
The following are some brief ideas for different experiments YOU can often try as well as some examples of things I have done either myself or in classes
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WHAT IS YOUR NORMAL TEMPERATURE
Without a Baseline your body temperature is useless and 98.6 degrees is not “normal”.
A little background.
I had been consulting for Becton Dickinson (BD) for a number of years and by the early 90’s was trying to conduct more types of personalized testing in my classes. The pulse rate experiments were ongoing and I secured a few portable pulse rate units as well as some digital timers to use in class.
I started to think about measuring body temperature and found digital thermometers in the pharmacies. I suddenly realized the most popular model was made by BD and so I got the idea of asking for a donation. After explaining they would be used in the classes and some studies might even serve a way of comparison testing I agreed to also provide a reporting back to the company. They were kind enough to give me 100 thermometers.
One of the primary types of “statistical tests” is one where you have what is considered the “true value” and you want to see if that quantity is NOT likely to be correct. In this case the theory has been that the average body temperature of “normal” people (that is those NOT sick) is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
I walked into class one day with a thermometer for every student (they had been cleaned but I also gave out protective covers as well).
Everyone took their temperature and low and behold, the average temperature was 98.2. And when we took into account how much variation there was amongst the students - everybody was NOT 98.2, just the overall average of them - that result was extremely unusual.
This was fascinating to me. I did the same experiment in two other classes that week and in each class the results were in the region of 98.2, not 98.6.
Just as I was getting excited about writing up these results another student came in with an article that described a larger study done ?in calif? As well as some information about the history of where the 98.6 value came from.
But you are probably curious about getting to the idea of Baseline that started this discussion. Let me ask a very important question though. What would be the reason for you to actually take your temperature.
Most of us would say that it is only when we think we are sick and the temperature reading is one type of signal to say yes or maybe. The main thing we would be looking for is whether our temperature has risen way above what is “normal”. So for this purpose you would be suggesting to me that the reference value you would work from is that “normal” value and for most of us we would say it is 98.6.
We now understand that 98.6 is not really everyone’s normal temperature, in fact only a few people would have that as their normal value. Which then suggests it is helpful to learn what your normal value is while you are healthy. Which means, take some readings, get some data, and learn what your normal or baseline values are.
Without a Baseline your body temperature is useless and 98.6 degrees is not “normal”.
A little background.
I had been consulting for Becton Dickinson (BD) for a number of years and by the early 90’s was trying to conduct more types of personalized testing in my classes. The pulse rate experiments were ongoing and I secured a few portable pulse rate units as well as some digital timers to use in class.
I started to think about measuring body temperature and found digital thermometers in the pharmacies. I suddenly realized the most popular model was made by BD and so I got the idea of asking for a donation. After explaining they would be used in the classes and some studies might even serve a way of comparison testing I agreed to also provide a reporting back to the company. They were kind enough to give me 100 thermometers.
One of the primary types of “statistical tests” is one where you have what is considered the “true value” and you want to see if that quantity is NOT likely to be correct. In this case the theory has been that the average body temperature of “normal” people (that is those NOT sick) is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
I walked into class one day with a thermometer for every student (they had been cleaned but I also gave out protective covers as well).
Everyone took their temperature and low and behold, the average temperature was 98.2. And when we took into account how much variation there was amongst the students - everybody was NOT 98.2, just the overall average of them - that result was extremely unusual.
This was fascinating to me. I did the same experiment in two other classes that week and in each class the results were in the region of 98.2, not 98.6.
Just as I was getting excited about writing up these results another student came in with an article that described a larger study done ?in calif? As well as some information about the history of where the 98.6 value came from.
But you are probably curious about getting to the idea of Baseline that started this discussion. Let me ask a very important question though. What would be the reason for you to actually take your temperature.
Most of us would say that it is only when we think we are sick and the temperature reading is one type of signal to say yes or maybe. The main thing we would be looking for is whether our temperature has risen way above what is “normal”. So for this purpose you would be suggesting to me that the reference value you would work from is that “normal” value and for most of us we would say it is 98.6.
We now understand that 98.6 is not really everyone’s normal temperature, in fact only a few people would have that as their normal value. Which then suggests it is helpful to learn what your normal value is while you are healthy. Which means, take some readings, get some data, and learn what your normal or baseline values are.