Here are three articles this week that use or quote statistics wisely.
- Connection between women wearing red and fertility: Slate asks the right questions on representative bias and how it was measured. It points out the major flaw that the study looked for best hypothesis that fits data ex post. That is looking looking for more white sand that confirms Madagascar is indeed San Diego.
- Phil Mickelson’s regression analysis: Mickelson thinks putting distance alone, chances of making it. Not the variances in the field, slope, weather etc,., just the distance. That is his prediction model. However the truth is unknown unless someone has looked at his data in aggregation.
- Causal link between stop and frisk and murder rates: Ira Glasser, ex- Executive Director of ACLU writes this letter to The Journal questioning the causal link.