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Do Statistics Lie?

I would start by breaking it into its parts. It is actually three statements in one. Women perform 60% of the work. Women earn 10% of income. Finally, women own 10% of the land. Let’s examine them one at a time. Women perform 60% of the work. The statement could be true, but the truth of the statement depends on how work is defined and counted. Women earn 10% of income. Again, it could be true. But the truth depends upon how one defines income. Women own 10% of the land. But what constitutes ownership? Depending upon the definition, one could find a wide range of answers.

Sociologist? Maybe. Statistician? Not So Much.

In real science, hypotheses are adjusted to fit scientific findings. In bad science, the scientific method is corrupted. In pseudo-science, good science is ignored or discounted in favor of evidence that supports the preferred hypothesis and logical fallacy is often used to deflect or derail discussion of evidence.

Is There Anything Wrong with this Picture?

Imagine a scenario in which three high school girls are sitting at a round table with picnic style benches on a high school campus eating lunch. There is room for a fourth. That fourth girl walks towards them carrying a tray of food. The three girls notice and re-arrange themselves to eliminate the space for the fourth girl to sit down. Is there anything wrong with this picture?

Weapons of Mass Destruction? Really?

“What exactly is a weapon of mass destruction?” Of course most of us will remember George W. Bush’s famous quest for WMDs in Iraq. If he had been looking for small explosive devices, my guess is that he might have found some. After all, the Iraqi army wasn’t unarmed.

The Politization of Emotional Events

Isn’t it funny how the same sentences can be used to describe the debate on a variety of issues with the substitution of only a few words and how these same sentences can be uttered by either the left or the right, particularly when wishing to capitalize on emotionally charged events.

Random Thoughts v1.1

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Random Thoughts

If you follow the link above you will be taken to an article on gun violence that suggests that President Obama should show some leadership by going into Black communities to speak out against violence like Dr. Dre apparently did.

A Disarming Argument

Shannyn Moore thinks guns are just swell. In fact she claims to own a few. She lives in Alaska, so she probably does. Her complaint is that her uterus should be less regulated and her guns at least slightly more regulated. It’s more difficult for a woman in Alaska to purchase birth control than bullets, at least according to Snanyn. Some people may consider this argument to be a straw man. But think about it for a moment. What she is really discussing is the regulation of one type of killing machine and the deregulation of another.