Week 2
Before departing for Enasni, as is standard protocol, I began reviewing the limited data available about the planet’s inhabitants. As described, the population was divided roughly evenly by gender. With a mean age of 53. However, upon my arrival, my own observations, corroborated by the local authorities, assured me that this was not the case. Indeed, a review of information prepared by the planet’s own central archives places the mean age at 46.

In pondering this contradiction, I first attempted to apply some comparative analysis. But found some elements of my ancient algebra skills lacking. So I turned to professor Aleks for advice. Once my arithmetic skills were refreshed, I began to compare the data used by our original survey team to that provided by the Enansi archives. What I learned was that our survey team used a small population sample for their calculations. In addition, the team selected subjects all residing in a region of the plant referred to historically by the name “land of the elder ones” (translated). In essence, the region long known for its longevity was not representative of the plant as a whole. In addition, the survey team used a small sample size, and erroneously assuming they had a normal distribution, applied Z in calculations instead of a t-distribution. I will report this correction when I return.