Lies, damned lies, and statistics

[CHNOPS]

Contained herein.

For example: "40% of all sick days are taken on a Monday or a Friday!" (Think about it.)

And:

And:

 

[JohnnySavage]

You're such a Chi Square.

 

[Tryharder62]

You see these things differently if your glass is half empty or half full.

 

[kbate]

A study has been completed showing that the rate of absenteeism is lowest on Monday, but increases slightly through the week.

While Friday is the most popular day of the week to be sick, statistically the difference is not significant.

In 1 day absences, the rate of sick leave for Mondays and Fridays was higher than that for other weekdays, but extended weekend absences accounted for only 0.6%–0.9% of all days lost due to sickness absenteeism.

This has been a lengthy way of agreeing with the basic claim about sickness posted in the OP.

 

[cleaver]

40% of the people reading this won't understand it.
the other 75% won't give it the proper amount of thought;
which is a room full of hurt
to this writer.

 

[bronzeage]

You see these things differently if your glass is half empty or half full.

Do people who wear bifocal glasses see half of what is in front of them, or miss half of what is front of them?

 

[kbate]

40% of the people reading this won't understand it.
the other 75% won't give it the proper amount of thought;
which is a room full of hurt
to this writer.

50% of your statistics
cause a room full of hurt
to this writer

 

[kbate]

Do people who wear bifocal glasses see half of what is in front of them, or miss half of what is front of them?

I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

 

[bronzeage]

I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

An A for effort and an F for results averages out to C for a final grade.

 

[kbate]

An A for effort and an F for results averages out to C for a final grade.

Failure is nothing and an A is a perfect grade. 100% +0% / 2 = 50% which is failing in every system. so F+A=F.

 

[Squibbs]

Statistics show that 9/10 people suffering from depression are losers.

 

[Disgustipated]

I was told there would be no math.

 

[MatthewVett]

Failure is nothing and an A is a perfect grade. 100% +0% / 2 = 50% which is failing in every system. so F+A=F.

But you just said that 50% is failing, and (100+50)/2=75=C, ergo, F+A can equal C. Quod erat demonstrandum.

 

[bronzeage]

Failure is nothing and an A is a perfect grade. 100% +0% / 2 = 50% which is failing in every system. so F+A=F.

[A(4 points) + F(zero points)]/2=C(2 points)

 

[MsFilippovna]

Contained herein.

For example: "40% of all sick days are taken on a Monday or a Friday!" (Think about it.)

Might it be significant if the job is 7/7 instead of the presupposed 5/7? Damn statistics!

 

[CHNOPS]

Pew: almost half of US moms are their families' main or sole breadwinners

Sounds right, right? Nearly 40% of women are now the sole or primary breadwinners in their families. And that is indeed big news and a big change from a decade ago. And 40% is a lot closer to half than it is to 0.

BUT...in fact, it's nowhere near half. "Nearly 40%" women leaves "more than 60%" men as the primary or sole bread-winner. That's a big disparity--20 points. Fully half again of the women's number.

The real statement---"Men are 50% more likely than women to be their family's sole or primary breadwinner"--is not quite the same...

 

[Fata Morgana]

They've just said on the local news here you are more likely to die during an operation if you have it on a Friday than a Monday.

 

[butters]

They've just said on the local news here you are more likely to die during an operation if you have it on a Friday than a Monday.

lack of nursing staff for aftercare attention

 

[CHNOPS]

I'm struggling with this report-on-a-report about the racial disparity in marijuana arrests. One on hand, the case seems like a slam-dunk: whites and blacks use about equally, yet blacks are arrested at rates far higher than whites. And it probably reflects an actual ugly truth.

But in 1) switching from percentages to raw numbers, as they do when get to the actual arrests, and 2) not providing usage or population breakdowns for the individual counties in which those arrests took place, they have failed to close the sale. It is, for example, possible that more blacks than whites in (say) Brooklyn use, or use more often, or live in areas where there is greater police presence for other reasons.

It's also possible of course--likely, damned near certain--that the laws are enacted and enforced more strictly against blacks than whites. But they have disappointingly failed to prove that here, and they should have. All it would have taken is a local usage poll to overly on the local arrest numbers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ackwhite-marijuana-arrest-gap-in-nine-charts/

 

[Sean]

I'm struggling with this report-on-a-report about the racial disparity in marijuana arrests. One on hand, the case seems like a slam-dunk: whites and blacks use about equally, yet blacks are arrested at rates far higher than whites. And it probably reflects an actual ugly truth.

But in 1) switching from percentages to raw numbers, as they do when get to the actual arrests, and 2) not providing usage or population breakdowns for the individual counties in which those arrests took place, they have failed to close the sale. It is, for example, possible that more blacks than whites in (say) Brooklyn use, or use more often, or live in areas where there is greater police presence for other reasons.

It's also possible of course--likely, damned near certain--that the laws are enacted and enforced more strictly against blacks than whites. But they have disappointingly failed to prove that here, and they should have. All it would have taken is a local usage poll to overly on the local arrest numbers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ackwhite-marijuana-arrest-gap-in-nine-charts/

You want a really good one, check out the difference in sentencing between powder and crack cocaine users.

 

[CHNOPS]

You want a really good one, check out the difference in sentencing between powder and crack cocaine users.

Yes. THAT'S a slam-dunk.