The Line Predicts; the Points Happened

A fit line predicts and the plotted points are what actually happened, so a prediction comes from substituting into the equation, never from reading a dot. Points leak in three places: reading a data point when the line was asked, misinterpreting the slope or intercept, and reporting an actual or predicted value when their difference was asked.

8 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · the line predicts · the gap is the residual · v1