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elliotsmelliot November 12 2010, 20:19:06 UTC
Woo hoo for passing stats. Good for you.

This sounds like a fun way to approach the assignment. Have you read World War Z? That might give you fun examples of population and global statistics. If you haven't already, I suggest double checking with the instructor just in case they want "real" world stats. Or maybe this is "real" if you are asking your participants to image what they would do if zombies attacked.

We are having a Barbie Jam on campus next week where we get to remake Barbies and Kens as part of a feminist forum and fair. I plan to make Zombie!barbie.

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 20:44:33 UTC
Thank you! I'm still a little stunned by that turn of events.

I haven't read World War Z, but it's been recommended to me before so I should prolly change that. The stats that I'm looking for are culturally contextual - that is, I'll be using a convenience sample of a population [primarily on-line peeps], to get a general shape for opinions on the Zombie Apocalypse. So - your second example is right. :)

I require pictures of zombie!Barbie. :D

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ella_bee November 13 2010, 02:39:23 UTC
But you've read the Zombie Survival Guide, right? RIGHT? By the same guy? If not, your Zombie knowledge is severely lacking. and I saw that with concern, because if the zombies come, I want you to live!

I know that it's already been brought up with countries and spread, but population density could help. Also, there must be some stats somewhere on how "outdoors-y" a population is, like, their frequency or acceptability of camping trips, hunting, or other survival tips.

Also, maybe how zombie-proof a country / region is already -- natural boundaries (eg, mountains, islands), and how people can retreat (north? forests? or will the harbours be super packed and therefore dangerous?) But then you have to set up quantifiers and rank things based on the sets that you have chosen... Yikes.

This is fun!

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fearsclave November 13 2010, 12:50:21 UTC
I'll second the Max Brooks recommendation; the ZSG seems to be the best summation of the most widely accepted model of zombie dynamics among my fellow grassroots anti-zombie self-defence community organizers.

Plus, in academia, being able to cite printed sources is always a plus.

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ginny305 November 12 2010, 20:22:17 UTC
Compare the stats of number of humans to zombies.
The mean/median/mode ranges of the ages of the Zombies?

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 20:36:20 UTC
Those are the sorts of questions I will end up distilling, yes. But I can't poll the zombies.

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ginny305 November 12 2010, 20:37:58 UTC
The average amount of money a person spends defending against the zombies? How much if they actually fight them?

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 20:49:41 UTC
I am now imagining how much fun your math tests would be. :D

In the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, I assume a high level of looting and highway robbery. Hmmm... unless the Zombie Apocalypse is slow, similar to other examples of invasive species/ overpopulation.

I'm trying to find questions to find data first, so I can then compile and draw conclusions - and the sorts of statistical questions you're offering.

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kimberly_tries November 12 2010, 20:25:20 UTC
oh, me! me!

best clothing hear to strive for in zombie apocalypse?
a preparedness question would be nice too- in the even you have time to prepare a pack for the zombie apocalypse what three items would you purchase that you don't own? or something like that.
maybe a what do you see yourself missing the most after you've survived the zombie apocalypse (though that might not be relevant to yer schemin', but interests the hell outta me)
and maybe a 'are you looking for others to group up with, or are you a lone ranger?' question, but that also might be irrelevant.
what three non survival items would you want to have on hand? to keep you alive in other ways.

as far as statistics go, i think it's important to ask more 'bouts where they reside, urban/rural/suburban, 'cause that'll likely impact their answers.

hurm. i thought i had more.. if i think of anything else i'll put it here.

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 20:34:39 UTC
YAY! This is exactly the stuff that I was looking for! Thank you. :D

I find the contextual questions are interesting too. I'm fascinated by how strong this horror trope has grabbed hold of popular culture. EVERYONE has opinions on it.

Oh good call on the urban/rural/suburban stat. That's the sort of thing that I needed, but couldn't figure out.

Thank you! All questions are SO very much appreciated.

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kimberly_tries November 12 2010, 20:50:25 UTC
*that was supposed to say GEAR, not hear, btw. and that was in the event. guh. i should not type when i am sick ( ... )

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 21:08:16 UTC
I read past the typo. No worries. :)

'm fascinated too! why do you think it's become so popular so fast? i'm glad, since it means i have more folks to discuss it with without them thinkin' i'm morbidly scary.

Morbidly scary is cool and also baseline around these parts. ;P I'm not sure, which is one of the reasons for the poll. Underlying fears about overpopulation, general state of the world are the obvious answers. That's what fuels most popular monsters. the popularity of vampires in the Victorian era was directly related to fear about sex; mutant monsters in the 50's was related to fear of fallout and atomic bombs. But that's oversimplifying.

GODS ABOVE WOMAN! Don't stop! This is why I made the post - brainstorming questions. Go cat go!

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eponine119 November 12 2010, 20:52:31 UTC
I don't know if I have anything to contribute but I think that this is awesome.

read other comments, had ideas:
- with what word does one best describe a zombie's walk
- do you truly believe a zombie apocalypse is inevitable?
- zombies: awesome/legit scary/amusing/other
- zombie diet? (is there more than braaaaaaaaaains? ;)

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 21:00:57 UTC
*grins* Thanks. I really wanted to add a bit of personal flair to the class.

Ha! I knew you'd get into the spirit of things quickly.

I dig all of these, but really like the zombie's walk question - it's like that question I had a billion years ago, about the proper name for a group of zombies. [I still like a Shamble.]

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clumsygyrl November 12 2010, 21:09:17 UTC
what about what people would need to survive the zombie apocalypse?

food stuffs? resources? weaponry?

what do the zombies survive on? besides brains... hah. what resources do the zombies need?

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crowgirl13 November 12 2010, 21:18:06 UTC
*nods*

I think resources deserves its own section on the poll. And zombie resources is an important thing to consider too - brains are an ideal, a cherished goal. They ain't the bread and butter.

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