Abstract: I argue that teaching statistical thinking is harder than teaching mathematics, that experimental design is particularly well suited to teaching statistical thinking and that in teaching statistics, variation is good. We need a mix of archival data, simulations and activities, of varying degrees of complexity. Within this context, I applaud the important contributions to our profession represented by Darius et al. (2007), and Nolan & Temple Lang (2007), the first for showing us how to make simulation-based learning simultaneously more flexible and more realistic than ever before, and the second for showing us a path-breaking technology that can make archival data the basis for active learning at an impressively high level of sophistication, embedding statistical thinking within real scientific and practical investigations.
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