Citation in Applied Geostatistics helps you realize the answer may be “It depends…”

I completed the Citation in Applied Geostatistics in 2012 and have had nearly three years to fully appreciate the course’s benefits. The program laid a solid theoretical framework that I’ve been able to implement in my day-to-day job functions. I appreciated the balance between geostats theory and the practical skills for deploying a well thought out model with a specific purpose.

I have discussed the course with many Geologists and Mine Engineers who’ve expressed interest in the course and they all seem to have similar questions, “Is the course difficult?” ”I’ve heard there is a ton of math,” and “Do you really gain skills that will help in your job?”

It depends.

As practitioners of geostats we are always looking for “rules” to situations we encounter:

• “What CV do I use as a threshold to determine whether to cap or not?”
• “How many samples per estimate should I use?”
• “What is the best way to determine block size?”

We use these heuristic rules of thumb as a way to find helpful time-saving shortcuts in our jobs. Oftentimes, these rules of thumb are quite legitimate and actually do save time. The problem is that the real answer to questions like these is “It depends.” In fact, I have determined that “It depends” is the answer to most questions in geostats. This is where the information I learned in the Citation really shines; it provided me with the skills to no longer rely on these rules. Instead of using a black-and-white approach to these questions, I now have the knowledge to critically think about what I’m doing and develop my own approach that best fits the specific deposit I’m working on.

However, the one question I definitively know the answer to is, “Is the Citation in Applied Geostatistics worth the coursework?” The answer is yes.