The Manga Guide to Regression Analysis makes learning about complex math equations sound much less like a chore and more like a fun afternoon.
Wikipedia defines regression analysis as:
“In statistical modeling, regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables. It includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables (or ‘predictors’).”
That didn’t sound half as fun as what I’m sure it is supposed to.
The Manga Guide to Regression Analysis takes that boring definition and turns it into something a bit more fun.
“Follow along with Miu and Risa…as they calculate the effect of temperature on iced tea orders, predict bakery revenues, and work out the probability of cake sales with simple, multiple, and logistical regression analysis.”
I should probably tell you I suck at math. Even with that handicap, I could actually follow along with this book and get something out of it. A major bonus is that it’s only 196 pages of actual learning material. The final ten pages or so show you how to use Microsoft Excel to do the formulas they walk you through in the rest of book.
It’s not 100% comics teaching the principles. Each chapter has the basics laid out by the two main characters with more detailed text a few pages later.
The only downside to the title I’ve seen is that once again the story focuses on a girl going after a boy. This was a direct translation from the original Japanese title, though, so No Starch Press can only work with what they’ve got.
From my understanding, regression analysis is taught in advanced AP high school math and college, so if you know someone that fits that bill, pick this title up for them this back to school season. If this isn’t on their agenda this school year, there are plenty of other titles ranging from young kids to high school that I’ve found useful at one point or another.
My top five picks are:
Survive! Inside the Human Body, Vol. 1, 2, and 3.
The Manga Guide to Calculus
The Manga Guide to Physiology
The Manga Guide to Physics
The Manga Guide to Statistics
My son was only seven years old when I introduced him to the Survive! volumes and he begged for the story to continue.
In my opinion, you can’t get better than mixing a good story with learning no matter the subject at hand. And when the topic tends to be a little boring for the learner, it makes it that much more enjoyable to have a relatable story to learn with it.
The Manga Guides are available from No Starch Press and can be found on Amazon or at your local bookstore.
Disclaimer: GeekMom was given a review copy.
