My
favorite: If you took all the statisticians on earth and laid them
end-to-end, they would still never reach a conclusion.
Patrick.
As a
colleague of mine -- an economist, as it happens -- once said:
"Statistics are like a bikini; they show what you want to show and
hide what you want to hide."
Just a little waste of
bandwidth
Ruth
Hi
all,
Ruth, I do not believe that this is a
waste of bandwidth. Radiation protection professionals have to stand so
many news in the mass media, which cite statistics, which are just
ridiculous, that I think this is very well on-topic! (I hope that
Michael agrees....). I could write dozens of pages regarding the
Chernobyl accident and the follow up as reflected in mass media
statistics, others might be able to write thousands of pages on the same
topic. I hardly dare to refer to the recent fierce debates on RADSAFE
over Rn and lung-cancer.
I really appreciate that some bandwidth
is taken up by humorous views on our job. Great scientists are known to
have been humorous. Our job is serious enough, let us enjoy such
humorous self reflection.
On topic:
"I do not believe in any statistics I have not
falsified myself" (unknown author).
Best regards,
Franz