ThucydidesOfAthens 179 points180 points 6 months ago

Lies, damned lies and statistics.

Soulflare3 63 points64 points 6 months ago

- My math teacher, 14 years ago

26326312 40 points41 points 6 months ago

Everyone's maths teachers, ever.

schallflo 0 points1 point 6 months ago

not mine!

... yet.

barkobunga_III 0 points1 point 6 months ago

"So what's this me- me-ga-lovania song you all keep playing in class?"

-my math teacher

russianhatcollector 0 points1 point 6 months ago

du du do du

AtomicKittenz 3 points4 points 6 months ago

-Americans, especially recently

seiferalmasay 4 points5 points 6 months ago

My statistics professor always says "statistics don't lie. Statisticians do."

That stuck with me. Numbers are objective, but the person choosing which numbers to use and how to interpret and present the data can make up pretty much whatever story they want.

gil_bz 0 points1 point 6 months ago

I think this is unfair, it is very easy to present data without trying to be deceptive, and still show misleading information.

seiferalmasay 1 point2 points 6 months ago

I think you took this much more negatively than it was intended. First, this was early in the course and a joke to break the ice in an otherwise stuffy subject, but also this was an admonition to be skeptical of other people's findings and rigorous with your own experimental design and data analysis. He was saying that the numbers you get are true, but depending on how you arrived at them (whether you were measuring the right things, for example) and how you analyze and present them matters a lot.

He was a statistician. He certainly wasn't saying every statistician is Snidely Whiplash, tying the truth to train tracks and twirling their evil moustache as they walk away laughing.

EpicRaginAsian 0 points1 point 6 months ago

Literally reviewing this in my uni class rn lmao