Signicance of High R-Squared Drew Conner had always been suspicious of newfangled mathematical stuff, and the most recent suggestion of his new assistant merely conrmed his belief that schools are putting a lot of useless junk in students heads. It seems that after an extensive analysis of historical data, the assistant suggested that the number of pounds of scrap was the best basis for predicting manu- facturing overhead. In response to Mr. Conners rage, the slightly intimidated assistant indicated that of the 35 equations he tried, pounds of scrap had the highest coefcient of determination with manufacturing overhead.

REQUIRED Comment on Conners reaction. Is it justied? Is it likely that the number of pounds of scrap is a good basis for predicting manufacturing overhead? Is it a feasible basis for predicting manufactur- ing overhead?