Friday 20 March 2009

Grumpy Science

Are bus drivers grumpy? After a spate of particularly grumpy drivers a few weeks ago, I decided to do some science.

Hypothesis: most bus drivers are grumpy.

We'll need to know what grumpy means though.

Definition of Grumpy

Exhibits one or more of:

  • Facial expression is one of general displeasure
  • Makes a negative comment
  • Emits grunting sounds in a negative manner
  • Does not acknowledge the passenger except for dealing with ticket
  • Eye contact limited to glaring or frowning
  • Complains about something
  • Definition of Cheerful

    Exhibits one or more of:

  • Smiles or has generally positive facial expression
  • Makes smalltalk, excluding where it consists mainly of grumbles or complaints
  • Emits a positive comment
  • Eye contact, excluding glaring or frowning at passenger
  • On each bus journey I take, I'll record whether the bus driver is grumpy or cheerful when I board the bus.

    The results will appear in another post.

    2 comments:

    1. I didn't realise you got so bored on the way to and from work! I can give you a few maths puzzles to keep your brain occupied!

      ReplyDelete
    2. You could remind me how to do confidence intervals on statistical "binomial-like" data?

      ReplyDelete