Statistical fallacy Memes

Posts tagged with Statistical fallacy

The Only Correct Solution

Math Science Engineering

1 month ago 4.7K views 0 shares

The Only Correct Solution

The perfect textbook example of why statisticians drink heavily. Someone asks about the probability of a plane getting struck by lightning while crossing a rainbow (an actually fascinating statistical question), and the galaxy-brain response? "50% - it either happens or it doesn't." This is the mathematical equivalent of saying water is wet because it's not dry. Every statistics professor just felt a disturbance in the force, as if millions of carefully crafted probability distributions suddenly cried out in terror and were silenced. The irony of this appearing on a Probability & Statistics textbook cover is *chef's kiss* perfection. Next up in Statistical Fallacies 101: "What are the odds of winning the lottery? 50% - I either win or I don't!"

Sampling Bias: When Your Data Is Already Biased Toward People Who Give Data

Research Math Science Academia

3 months ago 11.2K views 0 shares

Sampling Bias: When Your Data Is Already Biased Toward People Who Give Data

The perfect statistical paradox doesn't exi— This masterpiece illustrates sampling bias in its purest form. The researchers proudly announce that 99.8% of people "love responding to surveys" based on... wait for it... survey responses. Meanwhile, the people who hate surveys never filled it out in the first place. It's like concluding that 100% of fish love fishing hooks based on the ones you've caught. Statisticians are currently experiencing physical pain looking at this. The remaining 0.2% were probably just filling it out under duress from a particularly persistent grad student.