Probability Solutions Manual Book (MGB)

[statisticsnewbie]

I am a new student of statistics. My prof is using MGB and I would want to ask you guys if you have a copy of its SOLUTIONS Manual that will help me in my study. Please share if you have one.

 

[S-C-3-1-3]

I am a new student of statistics. My prof is using MGB and I would want to ask you guys if you have a copy of its SOLUTIONS Manual that will help me in my study. Please share if you have one.

Hi there,

Although I do not have the solution manual and was unable to locate one online, I wanted to warn you of the dangers of using a solutions manual. It's far too tempting to just copy the solutions for problems. I did it a lot when I first started my course, but when it came to the first exam, it was an awful experience, because I hadn't really done much learning.

My advice is to try your hardest on a problem, look it up online, because a lot of problems are similar or at least the concept. Then, come here if you have questions.

I wish I wouldn't have had a solutions manual!

 

[spunky]

I wish I wouldn't have had a solutions manual!

you think so? my experience was the opposite. i always thought "i could spend hours and hours working on a problem, come up with what i think is a solution and have absolutely no clue of whether i'm doing things right or wrong"... XD

 

[Dason]

I sort of agree with both S-C-3-1-3 and spunky. I like having the solution manual but I don't typically consult with it while doing the homework itself. These types of homeworks typically do take hours and struggling with it is probably the most important step in the process. Figuring out what doesn't work in some of these problems is just as important as the final step of figuring out what does work. In this way you'll have an idea when it comes time to take the test of plausible routes you should explore when trying to solve a problem (and which ones should be ignored at all costs).

However, I did like checking my solutions against a solution manual after I was done for various reasons. One reason is that it gave me a little bit of comfort if my solution matched (for the most part) with the solution manual. Reason number two is that if the solution manual used an alternate approach then I got to see that approach as well. I typically don't change my work to match the alternative approach but sometimes the avenue they used to solve a problem takes a lot less work than the route I took so it's good to keep that in mind. The third reason is that sometimes the solution manual was wrong. And taking the time and figuring out why it was wrong was just as valuable as solving the original problem.

I will admit to there being a *few* times when I just didn't have the time to struggle for hours on end trying to figure out a particularly horrible problem and took a peek just to see how to get started. If I had the time I probably would have preferred to not have to do that but oh well.

 

[spunky]

that is so true Dason. i mean, let's be honest... if all you want to do is look at the problem and then "study" the solution in the solution manual you're just fooling yourself and not learning anything. you need to work through it, struggle with it, go back to your notes, etc. and once you have something that you think may be the solution then yes, by all means, go and check. the best part with having that is, in my opinion, that you can re-trace back your own process and see exactly what it is that was giving you trouble. i remember when i started by veeeeery first intro to stats course i had trouble distinguishing permutation-like and combination-like problems. but because i would check my answer, go back, then check it again, go back again, etc. i ended up i think developing the intution for the famous question of "is order important in this problem?"

so yeah.... solution manuals are good... but if you only want it to look at the solution for the problem you're better off not doing anything at all because you're not going to learn much anyway...

 

[S-C-3-1-3]

that is so true Dason. i mean, let's be honest... if all you want to do is look at the problem and then "study" the solution in the solution manual you're just fooling yourself and not learning anything. you need to work through it, struggle with it, go back to your notes, etc. and once you have something that you think may be the solution then yes, by all means, go and check. the best part with having that is, in my opinion, that you can re-trace back your own process and see exactly what it is that was giving you trouble. i remember when i started by veeeeery first intro to stats course i had trouble distinguishing permutation-like and combination-like problems. but because i would check my answer, go back, then check it again, go back again, etc. i ended up i think developing the intution for the famous question of "is order important in this problem?"

so yeah.... solution manuals are good... but if you only want it to look at the solution for the problem you're better off not doing anything at all because you're not going to learn much anyway...

Don't most text books usually have the answers in the back of the book? Mine does.

 

[Dason]

Most (if not all) of the books I've used recently have answers in the back. But then again I'm in grad school...

 

[spunky]

Don't most text books usually have the answers in the back of the book? Mine does.

i guess it depends... the ones i used as an undergrad only had answers for the odd-numbered problems. unfortunately for me, the ones i used for real/complex analysis only had "sketches" of how to get started in proofs and they were usually the easiest ones... :/ unless you purchased the solution manual....