Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
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Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
@kareemcarr.bsky.social
19K followers 22 following 170 posts
Statistician. PhD @Harvard • Masters degree in pure math • Follow me for fun, nerdy content.

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kareemcarr.bsky.social
Check out my new article: vitalstatistics.kareemcarr.com/p/a-simple-e...
October 15, 2025 at 5:41 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Autism has gone up by a factor of five since 2000 but acetominophen use during pregnancy has been going down. Sorry but the math just ain’t mathing.
September 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/kareemca...
When I first studied statistics in high school, it appeared to me not as a revelation, but as a jumble of bizarre formulas that defied explanation. I could not for the life of me make sense of it. The calculations were mechanical and joyless. Compared to the elegance of physics, these equations felt unappealing, artificial, and just plain wrong. There was no reasoning to follow, only rules to memorize. I decided with absolute finality: statistics was not for me.
August 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
All you need is an email. Sign up now: kareemcarr.substack.com
Over the next few months, here are the types of posts you can expect to see in the Vital Statistics newsletter Shorts: Statistics thoughts of the day. 1-2 minute reads. Essays: Longer pieces. Meditations on statistics as a way of seeing the world. 5-10 minute reads. Case Studies: Educational examples of statistical analysis with charts and code Notes: Executive summaries of statistical ideas. Will sometimes involve math, but my principle is always the least amount of math possible to get the idea across. I will also point to resources for people who want to go deeper. Reviews: Statistics-related book reviews and book recommendations. All content will be 100% free for the next two months.
August 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/kareemca...
When I first studied statistics in high school, it appeared to me not as a revelation, but as a jumble of bizarre formulas that defied explanation. I could not for the life of me make sense of it. The calculations were mechanical and joyless. Compared to the elegance of physics, these equations felt unappealing, artificial, and just plain wrong. There was no reasoning to follow, only rules to memorize. I decided with absolute finality: statistics was not for me.
August 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
In today’s post, I write about what the inaccessibility of scientific journals says about modern science. Basically it's a trade off.

Read more about it here:
kareemcarr.substack.com/p/the-langua...
August 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
In today's article, learn how a chance discussion with the chair of Harvard’s statistics department changed everything about how I think about learning statistics.

Click here to read the full article: kareemcarr.substack.com/p/the-hardes...
August 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
In today's article, learn how a chance discussion with the chair of Harvard’s statistics department changed everything about how I think about learning statistics.

Click here to read the full article: kareemcarr.substack.com/p/the-hardes...
August 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
New article out today. Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/kareemca...
August 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
New article out today. Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/kareemca...
August 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
My newsletter has finally launched! New article out later today. Don't miss out. Sign up here: kareemcarr.substack.com
A white marble slab with the words Vital Statistics engraved at the top, sitting above a panel of four statistical charts. Listing from from upper left, clockwise: a scatter plot, histogram, density plot of a normal distribution and line chart. The lettering and figures are lit as if with an internal warm, yellow glow. Miniature toy figures are standing around the base of the marble block in evening wear with wine classes. There is a celebratory atmosphere.
August 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
My newsletter has finally launched! New article out later today. Don't miss out. Sign up here: kareemcarr.substack.com
A white marble slab with the words Vital Statistics engraved at the top, sitting above a panel of four statistical charts. Listing from from upper left, clockwise: a scatter plot, histogram, density plot of a normal distribution and line chart. The lettering and figures are lit as if with an internal warm, yellow glow. Miniature toy figures are standing around the base of the marble block in evening wear with wine classes. There is a celebratory atmosphere.
August 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Happy to announce I just defended my dissertation at Harvard and I’m now a PhD.
Kareem Carr standing outside Harvard School of Public Health moments after his successful PhD defense. He is smiling, dressed in a dark-patterned sport coat and dress pants, leaning casually against a railing. There is a bright red sign over his right shoulder that reads “Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health”.
August 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Happy to announce I just defended my dissertation at Harvard and I’m now a PhD.
Kareem Carr standing outside Harvard School of Public Health moments after his successful PhD defense. He is smiling, dressed in a dark-patterned sport coat and dress pants, leaning casually against a railing. There is a bright red sign over his right shoulder that reads “Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health”.
August 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
academic writing is so hard. only way i can do it is to pretend to be a terrible writer and then write like that.
July 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
The US government is aiming to get rid of a quarter million people involved in science research and education by 2026.

I have no words.
July 1, 2025 at 3:21 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
The US government is aiming to get rid of a quarter million people involved in science research and education by 2026.

I have no words.
July 1, 2025 at 3:21 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Jeff Bezos’s wedding cost $50 million which is $20 million more than the U.S. government has spent on math research this year.

We’re gutting science funding to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
June 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
The Vital Statistics newsletter is launching in 5 weeks.

It’s for anyone curious about what data and statistics teach us about the world we live in.

Sign up now: kareemcarr.substack.com
June 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
The Vital Statistics newsletter is launching in 5 weeks.

It’s for anyone curious about what data and statistics teach us about the world we live in.

Sign up now: kareemcarr.substack.com
June 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Dr. Kareem Carr, Ph.D.
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Vital Statistics is my newsletter where I give you the tools to think clearly about data in an age of lies and distortions.

Statistics not as math, but as a pathway to seeing the world more clearly.

Launching in 5 weeks. Sign up now: kareemcarr.substack.com
Two hands hold an open cloth-bound notebook displaying stitched charts (a scatterplot, line plot, bar chart, and bell curve) against a quilted background embroidered with “Vital Statistics.”
June 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Vital Statistics is my newsletter where I give you the tools to think clearly about data in an age of lies and distortions.

Statistics not as math, but as a pathway to seeing the world more clearly.

Launching in 5 weeks. Sign up now: kareemcarr.substack.com
Two hands hold an open cloth-bound notebook displaying stitched charts (a scatterplot, line plot, bar chart, and bell curve) against a quilted background embroidered with “Vital Statistics.”
June 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Amazing how AIs, whether built by right-wing billionaires or left-wing ones, keep discovering the same fundamental truth:
Colbert on the Colbert report with the caption "reality has a well-known liberal bias"
June 21, 2025 at 8:25 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
Rightwingers who argue free speech is only for citizens are telling on themselves.

They don’t see free speech as a way to seek truth by testing our beliefs in the marketplace of ideas. They see it as a nuisance we tolerate because the Constitution says we have to.
June 21, 2025 at 4:40 PM
kareemcarr.bsky.social
problem: can't get the model to say what you want
solution: just rewrite the data
June 21, 2025 at 1:07 PM