Thursday, August 29, 2013

Statistics

Statistics help us get a grip on our fear and uncertainty.  Consider these true but unpopular facts: 

Peanut butter kills more people every year than terrorists.



You are more likely to be shot by your dog than to use your gun legally on an intruder.


  


Statistics are easily manipulated.  They can "prove" that something causes something NOT to happen.  Like elephant repellent:




Here's another questionable correlation/causation case:  statistics clearly show that when ice cream sales start to rise, drowning deaths also rise.  Does ice cream cause drowning?









There are things we SHOULD fear:






And things we should not:



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