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| Sorting and Organizing |
Sorting and Organizing
Sorting and organizing are the most basic statistical operations. Folding laundry and putting away the dinner dishes are simple examples of sorting and organizing. Other simple procedures such as alphabetizing, and arranging from smallest to largest, from earliest to latest, or from most expensive to least expensive can also achieve useful results. When there is a lot of data to organize and sort, the actual procedures may be dull, but the results can be significant.
Here are a few examples:
1. Collectors of all types organize their collections. Philatelists (stamp collectors) organize their stamps by country, by year, by subject matter, by quality, and/or by value so they can show off their collections, locate specific stamps already in their collections, and know which stamps are still needed to complete portions of their collections.
2. During every business day at any major stock exchange, millions of shares in thousands of corporations are traded. Summarizing and organizing all that information is completed daily and the results are published in the business sections of newspapers. Potential investors can then check the newspaper listings for any stocks of interest and find the highest and lowest prices for the year, the highest and lowest prices for the previous business day, and the total number of shares traded in any listed stock on the previous day.
3. In 1735 Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish biologist, first published his Systema Naturae. Through several editions, he developed a system for classifying and naming all living things that is still used today. His naming conventions were eagerly adopted and biologists around the world were able to use the same name to describe the same living organisms. Using Linnaeus’ system, the similarities and differences of over 2.5 million species became more apparent, laying the foundation for Darwin’s theory of evolution.
4. In 1869 Dimitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, published his scheme for organizing the known elements according to their atomic weight and their chemical properties. He demonstrated that when the elements were arranged by atomic mass, their basic chemical properties tended to repeat with a regular pattern. He accurately predicted that new elements would be discovered with specific weights and properties, to fill gaps in his scheme. The arrangement of elements in the table provided vital clues to understanding the electron shell structure of atoms. Every chemistry student still studies the periodic table as a basic guide to the properties of the elements.
In many areas specialists have already organized and published standard knowledge.
For clear thinkers, there are great benefits to be gained in mastering these systems. There are still other situations in which creating your own system for sorting and organizing data can provide significant benefits.
Sorting and organizing are the most basic statistical operations. Folding laundry and putting away the dinner dishes are simple examples of sorting and organizing. Other simple procedures such as alphabetizing, and arranging from smallest to largest, from earliest to latest, or from most expensive to least expensive can also achieve useful results. When there is a lot of data to organize and sort, the actual procedures may be dull, but the results can be significant.
Here are a few examples:
1. Collectors of all types organize their collections. Philatelists (stamp collectors) organize their stamps by country, by year, by subject matter, by quality, and/or by value so they can show off their collections, locate specific stamps already in their collections, and know which stamps are still needed to complete portions of their collections.
2. During every business day at any major stock exchange, millions of shares in thousands of corporations are traded. Summarizing and organizing all that information is completed daily and the results are published in the business sections of newspapers. Potential investors can then check the newspaper listings for any stocks of interest and find the highest and lowest prices for the year, the highest and lowest prices for the previous business day, and the total number of shares traded in any listed stock on the previous day.
3. In 1735 Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish biologist, first published his Systema Naturae. Through several editions, he developed a system for classifying and naming all living things that is still used today. His naming conventions were eagerly adopted and biologists around the world were able to use the same name to describe the same living organisms. Using Linnaeus’ system, the similarities and differences of over 2.5 million species became more apparent, laying the foundation for Darwin’s theory of evolution.
4. In 1869 Dimitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, published his scheme for organizing the known elements according to their atomic weight and their chemical properties. He demonstrated that when the elements were arranged by atomic mass, their basic chemical properties tended to repeat with a regular pattern. He accurately predicted that new elements would be discovered with specific weights and properties, to fill gaps in his scheme. The arrangement of elements in the table provided vital clues to understanding the electron shell structure of atoms. Every chemistry student still studies the periodic table as a basic guide to the properties of the elements.
In many areas specialists have already organized and published standard knowledge.
For clear thinkers, there are great benefits to be gained in mastering these systems. There are still other situations in which creating your own system for sorting and organizing data can provide significant benefits.
