Data Analysis Research

• Male vs. Female Driving
•  According to the literature, how do driving habits differentiate between gender?
•   Migration patterns of King Salmon
•  Based on the literature, how have the migration patterns of King Salmon changed over the years and why?
•  Lebron vs. Jordan
• Based on the literature, which athlete will have had a better career? 

Analysis of a Biased Editorial: Lebron James is Better than Michael Jordan Ever Was by Luther Campbell

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2014/05/lebron_james_is_better_than_michael_jordan_ever_was.php

In this editorial the author Luther Campbell, exemplified his beliefs on why Lebron James will easily surpass Michael Jordan in basketball history using slightly embellished facts. He utilizes the bandwagon effect which is when someone leads to be more attracted to something because everyone else is trending to like it. This author is on the Lebron James bandwagon simply because he has great statistics so far in his career. Saying that he will pass Jordan is a joke because Lebron still has half of his career to play, and their is full possibility that he could sustain a career ending injury. The author believes "any dunk Jordan has done, Lebron can do better" which is very biased. If Lebron was such an astronomical dunker why doesn't he participate in the Dunk Contest every All-Star break and prove his the best dunker like Jordan did. The bandwagon effect is an unconvincing bias in my opinion because I don't like to follow the mainstream trends.

Another cognitive bias used by the author is the distinction effect. He puts Lebron and Jordan side by side and claims that Lebron is a much better teammate because he always cheers them up. I find this to be false because eventhough Jordan did go to casinos and clubs after the games does not make him a bad teammate. It only meant he wanted to relax after a long game  or try to expand his riches! We all have tried to at least once! The reasons he uses for this argument are biased and unfair because they were two different types of people off the court that should not be compared.

A third cognitive biased used by the author is availability heuristic. Availability heuristic is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater "availability" in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how unusual or emotionally charged they may be. Campbell exemplifies what Lebron can do later in his career when he really has no idea what the future has coming for Lebron James, players have had great careers only to slip into a career ending slump. Lebron will have trouble playing at this level of play for the rest of his career. Michael Jordan also many issues off the court such as the death of his father, something Lebron has never had to go through. The author utilizes many cognitive biases in his editorial and is biased towards Lebron James.

Crossing Something off the Bucket List

 Eating sushi has always been a fear of mine, but I decided to face my fears and try it. I still was not fond of the tentacle thing so I started off with the most basic sushi, the California roll.

I ordered 6 California Rolls from Fresh Catch in Mansfield.

After eating the sushi I was very satisfied and requested my mom to buy more the next time she is out shopping. Sushi is not my favorite all time food but it wasn't torture either. All in all a good experience .

Short-Term Bucket List

1.   Eating sushi:I have always feared eating sushi because the seafood inside usually isn't cooked and I'm personally not fond of the idea of eating an octopus' suction cup. Although I would be willing to try a California roll or something along the lines of that.

 2.       Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame:

I am a huge baseball fan and I have always dreamed of visiting the hall the displays all the greatest players to ever live. My dream to visit Cooperstown is yet to be fulfilled but I plan on visiting soon.

3.     Record Jason eating the T-Rex at Wendy's: I've never witnessed someone eating a T-Rex burger but I would be honored to record anyone who is daring enough to take it on. Jason wants to take it on and it would be fun to record him attempting to eat it.

 4.   Get a Job: It is a goal of mine to get a job because I am fond of the idea of some weekly cash flow. It would be nice to be able to support myself instead of relying on mom and dad to supply money whenever I need it. What I want to do is still a question I don't have an answer for but I hope to have soon.

 5.       Go to college: Another goal of mine is to go to college because it opens many opportunities that are not available to those who don't go and I also feel it will help me mature because I will be living away from my family whom which I relied on my entire life. I also hope to play college baseball and see what opportunities it opens up for me.

Profile of a Peer: Morgan Nicholson

Morgan Nicholson is a Freshman who attends Norton High School and is a fellow student of mine in F Period Journalism.

Morgan was a millennia baby born on, April 11th, 2000 in Overland Park, Kansas. Her family consists of her mother, father, her younger brother and younger sister. When I asked her who the weirdest person in her family was she answered without hesitation that "her brother was without a doubt her weirdest family member" because he is eight years old and "as an eight year old" he asks questions "that most adults do not know the answer to". Every year Morgan vacations in the summer and spends most of her days on beaches such as Old Orchard Beach, Horseneck Beach, and Mayflower Beach.


Morgan wishes that she was a surfer because :"She envies their gracefulness". When she visits the beaches she enjoys watching the surfers because those whom are good are interesting and even those whom are bad are fun to watch wipeout.
Morgan is a soccer player for our high school's Junior Varsity team. She claims she has been playing soccer every since she was four and "is in love with the game". Her team this year is "playing well" and "is built of mostly her friends". She says they have only lost one game so far this season which I think is very good given the hard division our school is in.

Morgan is very fond of Italian Cuisine, and subsequently her favorite restaurant is Bertucci's because "they have the best margarita pizza." If she was dying she would want her last meal to be her favorite pizza.

Morgan is a very nice and comical person and I am glad I got to learn more about her!