quote:
With the way statistics are bandied about by politicians - usually erroneously - I don't see how one could truly be a full-fledged participant in democracy without an ability to sort good statistical reasoning from bad.
Agreed. My favorite is the anti-drug ad that states "30% of wreckless drivers test positive for marijuana" giving the impression that those who test positived are stoned. Actually, 30% smoked pot within the last 2 weeks. Even better are the new stats here in the States showing that unemployment claims are on the downturn. What they don't show is the number of people that are unemployed but either no longer qualify for unemployment or have given up on the system.
My other favorite misuse of stats is drunken driving. If 30% of accidents are caused by drunken drivers, aren't sober drivers more dangerous since they make up the other 70%?
This message has been edited by Loudmouth, 05-11-2004 10:02 PM
™ Version 4.2
