Does anyone understand statistics anymore?

[mmerlinn]

Reminds me of a race.

The Russians boasted that they came in 2nd and the Americans came in next to last.

The Americans boasted that they were in first place and the Russians were in last place.

Who was correct? As it turns out BOTH, as the race was between ONLY the Russians and the Americans.

Once you knew that there were ONLY TWO participants, every thing became clear.

LOL

Now that is twisting statistics!!!!!


mmerlinn

"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"

 

[sha76]

This one is currently annoying me nearly every time I leave my house (although not quite enough to take a detour to miss it!) I can't remember the exact wording (I've blanked it from my mind!), but the gist is:
"More movers & shakers than any other university"
Now, I'd very much like to disagree with this statement (having never heard anybody claiming to be an alumni of this particular institution), but how can I? Precisely who has defined who are the "movers & shakers" and found which universities they attended?
</rant>

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[Dollie]

Golf clap for SilentAiche!

I owe you a pint for the Monday morning giggle...

 

[columb]

There is of course a serious side to all this. Here in the UK, and I believe it is prevalent in the USA as well, children are being put in real danger because their parents, and, worse still professional journalists, cannot understand the statistics associated with the MMR vaccine.



Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy

 

[UniqueFD]

Anyone remember the cat food ad that got caught out quoting statistics?

[red]Nine out of ten owners said their cats preferred it[/red]

... had to become:

[blue]Nine out of ten owners, who expressed a preference, said their cats preferred it[/blue]


Tony
___________________________________________________
Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing (Solomon)

 

[columb]

I was going to make a comment about a cosmetics brand who's 'results' are backed up by a charity which researches into skin care products, but any suggestion that the charity is funded in any major way by the cosmetics brand, or that his might have any influence on their reports would be a libelous slur on the good name of both institutions, because they're worth it.


Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy

 

[SantaMufasa]

...And then there's Bayer Aspirin's incredible claim:

Nothing works better than Bayer Aspirin.

...But wait...they are correct: If you take nothing, it does work better than Bayer Aspirin.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[cresbydotcom]

Quote:
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.


There are three kinds of liars

Liars, Damned Liars and Politicians................

Put the two together and you just elected them.............

 

[zarkon4]

On the related story,
If you lived in misery (missouri), you would smoke too!

 

[grande]

I always liked the "Four out of Five Dentists/Doctors/Paid Spokesmen would recommend our product" ads. There was a commercial making fun of that last year, I believe with a guy getting smacked in the face with a clipboard.

I remember that, it was for a car. Then, one of the four starts beating the s*** out of the fifth.

-------------------------
Just call me Captain Awesome.

 

[sbudzynski]

There was one where the fifth had a fly on his head or something.

I don't remember what the ad was for though..

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[SilentAiche]

Golf clap for SilentAiche!

We've never met, Dollie, but I still find you beautiful. Who else could put up with me?!

BTW - If "Golf Claps" (whatever the heck they are!) hurt, I'll need to find a substitute. I only hope it has more to do with applesauce than applause.

Or, anything to do with "T", afternoon or otherwise.

Tim


[blue]________________________________________________________
"To be rather than to seem" - Official Motto of the State of North Carolina[/blue]

 

[imnotcourtney]

When ever I post I seem to make a huge blunder - but that doesn't seem to stop me...

Check out Sally Field's new Boniva commercial. "Don't wait to call your doctor - I'm glad I did" is just one of the confusing phrases in it that come to mind.

 

[grande]

I was wondering how Sally Field got ahold of my medical records...

-------------------------
Just call me Captain Awesome.

 

[Zathras]

Attempting to get back on topic, here is a wonderful (literally, full of wonder) use of statistics to obfuscate an issue as reported in the WSJ Opinion Journal today:

"New public opinion surveys conducted among 'opinion elites' in Europe show that support for the Palestinians has fallen precipitously," according to a fascinating report in the Jerusalem Post. The surveys, conducted by Stanley Greenberg, an American Democrat who has also worked for Israel's former prime minister Ehud Barak, found that attitudes had changed most dramatically in France:

Three years ago, 60 percent of French respondents said they took a side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and of that 60%, four out of five backed the Palestinians. Today, by contrast, 60% of French respondents did not take a side in the conflict, and support for the Palestinians had dropped by half among those who did express a preference.

If we read this correctly, French support for the Palestinians has declined to 16% from 48%, while support for Israel has increased to 24% from 12%.

Check out

http://www.opinionjournal.com

- you might like it.

 

[johnherman]

A recent survey showed that 80% of Americans think they are above average drivers.

-------------------------
The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright

 

[johnherman]

Strongly Recommended:
"How to Lie with Statistics" By Darrell Huff
First Edition was published in 1954
An enlightening book with very little math.

-------------------------
The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright

 

[SilentAiche]

[green]"Why, I have HALF a mind to..."[/green]

Tim (just to preserve the "stat US quo"...

BTW - The sequels to "How to Lie with Statistics" were "Primal Urges" and "'Ho Numbers."

The result was ecocomical: the 10 at 2 cost 20. The 2 at 10 was the egghead who bought the stat book...



[blue]________________________________________________________
"To be rather than to seem" - Official Motto of the State of North Carolina[/blue]

 

[tsdragon]

There is another interpretation to the Bayer commerical:

"Nothing works better than Bayer Aspirin"

True, nothing works better - they all work just as well.

On the "four out of five dentisits surveryed recommend" commercials - they don't say "four out of EVERY five". If they surveyed 10,000 dentists and four recommended their product, then the statement is true, albeit misleading.

imnotcourtney: did you ever find out how Sally Field got your doctor's number?

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[jrbarnett]

I'd also like to add to this thread any individual or organisation who uses more than 100% in any sense whatsoever.
Mostly it tends to be <one person> indicating their backing for <another person> <some percentage over 100>.

Does anybody else get annoyed about this sort of thing?

John