general

factor definition

The term factor it is especially linked to two very different issues. On the one hand It is used to refer to the element or the conditioning factor that contributes to the production or achievement of a result and, on the other hand, it is of vital importance in the field of mathematics since it serves to name the two terms of a multiplication.

In the first case mentioned in the previous paragraph, we can cite the following as an example: Juan got soaked yesterday afternoon during the rainy storm because he forgot his umbrella. Here the factor in this situation will be Juan's forgetting of the umbrella.

In the second model, the terms of a multiplication or product are generally called "factors"; hence the popular synthesis of the commutative property ("the order of the factors does not alter the product"). As a variant of this format, the emphasis in statistics is on considering factors almost synonymous with variables, with subtle differences between them.

Risk factor

Meanwhile, there is also a third use of the term, which although it does not refer strictly to the word itself, but is associated with another, but is also widely known and used: Risk factor.

In the field of epidemiology, risk factors are called all those situations, circumstances, that increase a person's chances of contracting some type of disease or condition such as cancer or atherosclerosis.

In the case of cancer, its various types will have their own different risk factors. Smoking will be the main and biggest risk factor for sometime getting cancer of the lung, larynx, mouth, lip, esophagus and bladder, for example. Although the risk factor cannot be blamed entirely for the contraction of the disease, that is, they are not necessarily the causes of these always, it should be noted that they are closely linked to them. This means that some patients who do not smoke can still develop lung cancer, as a consequence of the influence of other variables (genetics, for example). However, the probability of suffering from these diseases will be much higher when the factor is present.

The importance of knowing these risk factors associated with various diseases is that knowing them through a study will allow the prevention of the disease. In other words, what I mean is that if smoking is a risk factor for those who, for example, have a family history of lung cancer, I know that I must inexorably stop smoking, because this risk factor can stop being such and become the concrete cause of a bad future.

This study of risk factors, in addition to applying it to the prevention of diseases or detection of the causes that cause them, can also be transferred to the business world. It has become very common in recent years for some consultants or people to dedicate themselves exclusively to detecting the risk factors that can threaten a business. Obviously these calculations will be made thanks to an exhaustive knowledge of probability theory and mathematics. Indeed, the epidemiological model uses factors as its great calculation engine, both in health sciences and in practical applications related to the world of finance.

Consequently, it is inconceivable to study these very different disciplines without incorporating into the curriculum the information related to the operation and calculation of the factors, the possibility of their combination and the practical application of the (apparently ...) complex world of statistics.

Production factors

In classical economics, the land and the rest of the resources that nature provides us, the work of human beings, whether physical or intellectual, and the capital, which results from the above and which implies the money and tangible goods that are involved in the production process.

It should be noted that the price paid for each factor involved will affect the value that will be attributed to the product already produced.

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