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Misleading graph from the news
There are tons of examples of statistics being misused or misrepresented by the media and politicians (among others). I'm going to try and collect examples as I find them so that I don't have to search...
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Poorly displayed poll results
I've begun searching for news articles that either use statistics incorrectly (misunderstanding what a study means, making bogus claims, etc.), present data exceptionally poorly (misleading graphs), or...
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Hurricane Sandy and the gambler's fallacy
There are presently no shortage of articles being written about Hurricane (now Post-Tropical Cyclone) Sandy and what role climate change has played in the formation of the "Frankenstorm" that has left...
View ArticleStatistics in the news (use and abuse)
In early October 2012, the media started running stories about how eating many servings of fruits and vegetables is linked with happiness. The study in question was an observational study of the eating...
View ArticlePrudential's "Stickers" Commercial
I spotted a dot plot while watching TV the other day: It isn't too frequently that one sees a dot plot on TV, so this is a good opportunity to discuss something students might have encountered. Using...
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Statistics on The West Wing
The United States decennial census features heavily in the sixth episode of The West Wing (S1E6, “Mr. Willis of Ohio”). In particular, the topic of sampling versus a door-to-door headcount is discussed...
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