I recommend The Cartoon Guide to Statistics, as a good way to get into stats. I've taught a class using it work a number of times, and it makes a great first exposure. The equations are there, explained in a really nice way.

https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick...

At least a partial antidote for #1: https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick...

For #2: In my experience, it takes a long time to go from "the basic question" to a well-founded statistical question for which analysis is appropriate.

For #3: The best managers and analysts will find ways to ask questions and meet in the middle between technical complexity and the business/science problem at hand.

You might find OpenIntro Statistics helpful:

http://www.openintro.org/stat/textbook.php

It's a free online statistics textbook, also available in print. I haven't used it extensively, so I can't vouch for its quality -- actually, I complain about it a bit in Statistics Done Wrong. But I've never come across a very good conceptual introduction to statistics, so this is roughly the best I know.

There are also amusing variations, like the cartoon guide to statistics:

http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...

If you find a useful resource, I'd like to hear what worked for you.

The test is running only for 12s. It should at least run for a couple of minutes and several times with a clear control of what is going on on the server at the same time.

You do not even know the memory load, what was running at the same time on the server, etc. It is like throwing one blue dice and one yellow. You get a six on the first and a three on the second and consider through your not terribly scientific benchmark that you get more with blue dices.

Recommended reading for the author: http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...

Not a joke, this is a really good book about the test side of the stats.

Two great books for those who need to re/freshen up their statistics:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Lie-Statistics-Darrell-Huff/dp/039...

http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...

I haven't had a chance to check out the manga guide to statistics but that might be a decent introduction, as well.

I can't recommend Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick and Woollcott Smith enough. It's a great resource for developing an intuitive understanding and can often answer questions by explaining the concepts in a different way that traditional texts. http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...

There's the Cartoon Guide to Statistics ( http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/... ), which, despite its name, is pretty solid and comprehensive book on basics. And definitely not boring!

Read the "Cartoon Guide to Statistics". It's no joke. Rather, perhaps the book that explains statistics in the clearest way.

http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...