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Well, yes, especially with relationships. Could the length of the relationship have anything to do with the statistics? Could you have an anomalous response that kills the survey. Maybe one guy was cheated on five times, by five different girlfriends, or the the same woman cheated on five different guys...it's hard to tell.
With your crime example, is it all kids who killed other kids since...1970? Or is it a comparison between 2008 and 1998? If the data isn't valid, then neither is the study. But one does know what one's personal experience with something has been.
But, I don't need to know what your personal experience is. I mean it is lovely as a side but never as the main dish. What we do not need in this society is the if it is true for one then it is true for all attitude. That is a mistake. Huge, especially in regards to how it impacts everyone else.
I say this frequently, especially if someone starts throwing a tantrum in the middle of a debate: I don't care how you feel. It isn't about how you feel.
Now, of course, I do if we are talking curtains, recipes, parenting but not when we are looking at facts or dissecting issues.
Then there are people who cherry-pick whatever data supports the positions they already hold. For example, those who oppose any sort of nationalized healthcare point out statistics in which US patients survive certain types of cancer longer or have shorter wait times for surgery than patients in the UK or Canada. Those who support some sort of nationalized healthcare point out statistics showing where UK and Canadian patients are treated for certain conditions that US patients are denied treatment for because their insurance companies deny them, or where US patients get treatment but go bankrupt in the process. Very rarely do people point out statistics from both sides to show that each position has its pros and its cons.
Well like opinions ;you can find data that supports most claims. Most post personal opinion here or personal observations. If its data you want then why repost on a forum just go to the data you like and smile.
Frequently "data" are not useful. To take the example given; 10% of marriages end because women are unfaithful. What does that tell me about my relationship with my wife? Absolutely nothing. It is useless information.
Add to that the fact that any statistician worth his salt can come up with data and construe it in such a way as to say anything they want. As Mark Twain said: "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics."
There is a lot of data available on the internet, most of it free for the taking....why don't people use it???? I am talking about data about poverty, quality of life, the economy, child rearing, retirement, ....and on and on....
Why is that? Are people inherrently too lazy to use data? Are they so uneducated that they can't? Are they afraid that data will contradict their opinions? WHY?
Well, gee! If it's on the Internet, it must be true, right? I mean, if it wasn't true, *they* (whomover that is) surely would't allow it to actually be published there!
Much of what's widely available is akin to the testimonials on infomercials. Always, always... consider the source when finding facts. Finding information has become so easy with the click of a mouse that it's become quite different from finding the truth. And there's always someone out there with a reason for promoting their own version of truth (e.g., the "facts" about the effect of the Health Care bills).
But, I don't need to know what your personal experience is. I mean it is lovely as a side but never as the main dish. What we do not need in this society is the if it is true for one then it is true for all attitude. That is a mistake. Huge, especially in regards to how it impacts everyone else.
I say this frequently, especially if someone starts throwing a tantrum in the middle of a debate: I don't care how you feel. It isn't about how you feel.
Now, of course, I do if we are talking curtains, recipes, parenting but not when we are looking at facts or dissecting issues.
I didn't say how I "felt" mattered--I said what mattered was my personal experience with the subject.
Even if 95% of all people like roller coasters, there's still 5% who don't like them--and I number in the 5%. I really don't care if most people DO like them, I don't--so a rollercoaster ride would not interest me.
The answer to any debate topic is quite adequately summed up by the phrase, "Not in MY experience".
There is no objective reality--it's all filtered through a person and their view of it.
Here is something that I don't understand. I've tried for 20 or 30 years to understand it, (well, honestly, maybe I haven't tried that hard!). Why is it that so many people make claims and refuse to use data to support their opinions? I don't get it. There is a lot of data available on the internet, most of it free for the taking....why don't people use it???? I am talking about data about poverty, quality of life, the economy, child rearing, retirement, ....and on and on....
Why is that? Are people inherrently too lazy to use data? Are they so uneducated that they can't? Are they afraid that data will contradict their opinions? WHY?
Here is something that I don't understand. I've tried for 20 or 30 years to understand it, (well, honestly, maybe I haven't tried that hard!). Why is it that so many people make claims and refuse to use data to support their opinions? I don't get it. There is a lot of data available on the internet, most of it free for the taking....why don't people use it???? I am talking about data about poverty, quality of life, the economy, child rearing, retirement, ....and on and on....
Why is that? Are people inherrently too lazy to use data? Are they so uneducated that they can't? Are they afraid that data will contradict their opinions? WHY?
If you were familiar with the underlying science behind statistics (mathematical statistics), you'd have the answer to your question. There is a reason it's called 'mathematical modeling' or 'statistical modeling.' There is a reason it's called statistics rather than fact. Mathematics is a 'perfect' or 'ideal' system used to model an imperfect or chaotic system (our universe).
Statistics were devised to help us approximate measurable phenomena in our world; they were not devised to follow fanatically as a religion. In the vast majority of cases there ARE statistical exceptions. You cannot mathematically mold every bit of data from a real world sample to the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, etc. To treat everyone and everything as an average or modeled number or regression line prediction is sheer stupidity. You must take into account the chaotic behavior of reality where it comes into play.
Here is something that I don't understand. I've tried for 20 or 30 years to understand it, (well, honestly, maybe I haven't tried that hard!). Why is it that so many people make claims and refuse to use data to support their opinions? I don't get it. There is a lot of data available on the internet, most of it free for the taking....why don't people use it???? I am talking about data about poverty, quality of life, the economy, child rearing, retirement, ....and on and on....
Why is that? Are people inherrently too lazy to use data? Are they so uneducated that they can't? Are they afraid that data will contradict their opinions? WHY?
Just ask the christian church? They have been doing it for years. If you do it based on religion my guess would be 50% of people refuse to use information that is written and proven.No religion is exactly right but you have to be open to being wrong and adapt to change.In politics one side will spurn the other just to see that party fail so they can win back the big chair instead of doing what's in the best interest of the public.
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