An interesting, if lengthy, story in the forthcoming Sunday New York Times magazine about how those evil statisticians help Target and other companies market to their customers. (May be behind the subscription wall.)
I will point out, though, that despite all the information these companies have on me, I still get mail addressed to "Ms. Tracy Mohr."
Showing posts with label damn lies and statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label damn lies and statistics. Show all posts
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Charles Murray is Still Despicable
The great Roy Edroso has a post up about the latest load of crap excreted by Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, one of the most despicable books of recent years.
There's also a link to a quiz Murray has concocted that purports to assess the reader's isolation from Real America. You know, the land of NASCAR, American Idol, chain restaurants, and so forth.
The quiz itself is crap that would get an 'F' from any statistics instructor, but in the interest of science, I went ahead and took it. I scored a 30, which makes me "A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Range: 11–80. Typical: 33"
My Chesterfield-smoking, Schlitz-drinking, high-school dropout father woulda been proud.
There's also a link to a quiz Murray has concocted that purports to assess the reader's isolation from Real America. You know, the land of NASCAR, American Idol, chain restaurants, and so forth.
The quiz itself is crap that would get an 'F' from any statistics instructor, but in the interest of science, I went ahead and took it. I scored a 30, which makes me "A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Range: 11–80. Typical: 33"
My Chesterfield-smoking, Schlitz-drinking, high-school dropout father woulda been proud.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How not to interpret data
Story in the local papers today:
Naperville ranks second in state DUI arrests
Naperville happens to be the fifth largest city in Illinois. The city with the most DUI arrests (excluding Chicago) is Rockford, which is the third largest city in the state.
Sensing a pattern?
The actual data, available at the web site of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, is better, as it ranks the municipalities by arrests per officer. Don't drink and drive in Carol Stream or Barrington.
Naperville ranks second in state DUI arrests
Naperville happens to be the fifth largest city in Illinois. The city with the most DUI arrests (excluding Chicago) is Rockford, which is the third largest city in the state.
Sensing a pattern?
The actual data, available at the web site of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, is better, as it ranks the municipalities by arrests per officer. Don't drink and drive in Carol Stream or Barrington.
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