Statistically Critical?

cornishman

cornishman

Junior Jedi
Staff member
Just found an article on the BBC Magazine site that got the little grey cells intrigued.
It discusses spurious statistics, "numbers" if you like, and strange correlations.
Quote from Tyler Vigen (author of the site in question)
"I've seen a lot of headlines, especially sensationalist ones - 'Scientists find a connection between x and y,' he says."
"In a lot of those situations there might be a correlation, but it's really important for us to be critical about whether there's a causal mechanism."
One of the golden rules of statistics is that correlation does not equal causation. Just because the movements of two variables track each other closely over time doesn't mean that one causes the other.
Click to expand...
View his site HERE if you like playing with numbers/statistics.
 
cornishman said:
Just found an article on the BBC Magazine site that got the little grey cells intrigued.
It discusses spurious statistics, "numbers" if you like, and strange correlations.
Quote from Tyler Vigen (author of the site in question)
View his site HERE if you like playing with numbers/statistics.
Click to expand...
Those are great Tony. lol
 
Interesting - this was featured on the radio the other day. Probably BBC Radio 4.

There is one I can believe is tangible when you think about it; a correlation between per capita consumption of cheese (US) and number of people who died by becoming tangled in their bed sheets.
 
cornishman said:
Just found an article on the BBC Magazine site that got the little grey cells intrigued.
It discusses spurious statistics, "numbers" if you like, and strange correlations.
Quote from Tyler Vigen (author of the site in question)
View his site HERE if you like playing with numbers/statistics.
Click to expand...
My favorite Tony is when they compare statistics with pool drownings and Nicolaus Cage movies. lol
 
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