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Staple of people from State and Europe !

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barney:
When I was in my schooling years, a professor proved, statistically, that I actually detested something I liked.  His aim was not to persuade me to change my mind.  It was to demonstrate that anyone even semi-competent at math could make statistics mean whatever that person wanted them to mean.

Statistics are like Aristotelian statements:  they are useless without qualifiers.  My favourite Aristotelian syllogism goes like this (substitute your own food preferences):
Premise one - Nothing is better than ice cream,
Premise two - Crackers are better than nothing,
Conclusion - Crackers are better than ice cream.

OK, two (2) unqualified statements lead to an untenable conclusion, but the apparent logic is unassailable.

Same thing applies to statistics - meaningless w/o appropriate qualifiers.

For instance ...
Once every four (4) years, I am a part of the nationwide statistic base.
Once every two (2) or six (6) years, I am a part of the statewide statistic base.
Apart from that, I am a part of a communitywide statistic base.

Recently, there was report of West Nile virus, three (3) cases.  Now, that number is insignificant on even a statewide scale, much less national or global.  But it's pretty damned significant within the community.  See, statistical numbers take all feeling and conscience out of whatever is being judged.  Instead of calculating percentages, count the number of deaths or illnesses directly involved. 

As an example, I know folk who are allergic to peanuts - ingestion will be serious and could be fatal.  Statistically, they don't count ... too many decimal places ... but the folk around them, close to them would damned well be impacted should they happen to slip, or eat  something they don't know has peanuts in it.

Statistics dehumanize reality (and sometimes morality).  That can be a helpful if you have to deal with a lot of tragedy.  But statistics aren't worth a damn in any kind of argument except between statisticians.  Numbers simply don't replace, nor compare to, facts.

Renegade:
3 Kinds of Lies:


* Lies
* Damn lies
* Statistics :D
;D

Premise one - Nothing is better than ice cream,
Premise two - Crackers are better than nothing,
Conclusion - Crackers are better than ice cream.

--- End quote ---

I'd stick that in as a red herring. i.e. The topics of discussion are entirely different. You can rewrite them and sub in the appropriate meaning:

1) There is not another thing that is better than ice cream.
2) Crackers are better than not having anything.

You can't get to the conclusion from those 2.

But this gets to one of the big problems in modern medicine (allopathic medicine) - epidemiology. It's basically just statistical analysis.

Renegade:
On the topic of fresh milk... this is... errr... you might not want to click if you have, uh, sensitivities... Let's just say some people are pretty weird.

Caution

Shades:
Looks kinda fake (the object that is being suckled upon, I mean)  ;)

Renegade:
Looks kinda fake (the object that is being suckled upon, I mean)  ;)
-Shades (August 14, 2012, 08:57 AM)
--- End quote ---

I could barely look at it at first, but I think you're right when I look at it again. Good eye!

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