A
Anonymous
Guest
Studies have shown that 32% of statistical reports are misleading...
LFS owner gets "Stupid Suggestion of the Year" awa
- Thread starter swreefer
- Start date
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cats_Eat_Fish:
<STRONG>An average is a number, not a range.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
There is more than one definition of average (the American Heritage dictionary lists seven). The one you are using is: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
When we refer to "average intelligence", I think this definition is more appropriate:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
The second meaning is generally a range, whereas the first is not. Many, many people can be of average intelligence, or average height, or average income, without having the exact same IQ, height, or salary.
And in this second meaning, it makes perfect sense for less than 50% to be "above average" or "below average".
Intellectually stimulating discussion on reefs.org that hasn't degraded into name-calling yet! Too bad it has nothing to do with aquariums.
[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]
<STRONG>An average is a number, not a range.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
There is more than one definition of average (the American Heritage dictionary lists seven). The one you are using is: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
When we refer to "average intelligence", I think this definition is more appropriate:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
The second meaning is generally a range, whereas the first is not. Many, many people can be of average intelligence, or average height, or average income, without having the exact same IQ, height, or salary.
And in this second meaning, it makes perfect sense for less than 50% to be "above average" or "below average".
Intellectually stimulating discussion on reefs.org that hasn't degraded into name-calling yet! Too bad it has nothing to do with aquariums.
[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR> Cats,
You obviously havn't reached (six-sigma) black-belt status yet. The statement that "15% of the population are above average intelligence" is, in fact, entirely possible. Just because you make a sample size large enough doesn't mean that it will have normal distribution! Thats the whole point of statistics, man!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually, I have. And read my posts again, I stated ASSUMING a normally distribution. A random sample of sufficient size of peoples IQ scores will, in fact, be normally distributed.
You obviously havn't reached (six-sigma) black-belt status yet. The statement that "15% of the population are above average intelligence" is, in fact, entirely possible. Just because you make a sample size large enough doesn't mean that it will have normal distribution! Thats the whole point of statistics, man!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually, I have. And read my posts again, I stated ASSUMING a normally distribution. A random sample of sufficient size of peoples IQ scores will, in fact, be normally distributed.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cheese Sandwich:
<STRONG>Studies have shown that 32% of statistical reports are misleading...
</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
ROTFLMAO!,and another 14% of the surveyers are studying inaccurate information,and 17% of the readers missinterpret the information..........to sum it all up,nobody knows sh*t!!
LOL,Marc
[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: fudge ]
<STRONG>Studies have shown that 32% of statistical reports are misleading...
ROTFLMAO!,and another 14% of the surveyers are studying inaccurate information,and 17% of the readers missinterpret the information..........to sum it all up,nobody knows sh*t!!
LOL,Marc
[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: fudge ]
Ahhh I can still remember the first day of my first ever statistics class in College. The teacher got up and started out.
"There are 3 types of lies in this world. There are lies, damn lies and then of course there are statistics."
Heh that has stuck with me. You can take some statistical values and turn them for you or against you with just the changing of a couple words.
"There are 3 types of lies in this world. There are lies, damn lies and then of course there are statistics."
Heh that has stuck with me. You can take some statistical values and turn them for you or against you with just the changing of a couple words.
Nathan I hope we all have moved past the Yankee thing. Let me ask you a simple question,
Why do so any Yankees retire in the south?
Why does no-one from the south retire in the north?
If you really feel that much about the north, please by all means stay there and convience a few others to do the same
Why do so any Yankees retire in the south?
Why does no-one from the south retire in the north?
If you really feel that much about the north, please by all means stay there and convience a few others to do the same
You think that suggestion is really stupid???
I've heard much worse from a LFS that I don't go to anymore.
"Sure, 2 coralife tubes is enough light to keep anything. I had a clam and an acropora that did great." (they died, I wonder why...)
"What do you think you need a skimmer for?"
"For a 70 gallon tank, you'll need 600 pounds of live rock."
All these statements and more were made by the airhead college girl employee who has 2 tanks. Keep in mind that she is older and more reef experienced than I am!
This same place has a CRAPPY 55 display tank. It has more hair algae than I have ever seen, a ton of live rock, seaclone skimmer, softies and polyps, and a very sad looking tomato clown. The water is a little discolored...
I've heard much worse from a LFS that I don't go to anymore.
"Sure, 2 coralife tubes is enough light to keep anything. I had a clam and an acropora that did great." (they died, I wonder why...)
"What do you think you need a skimmer for?"
"For a 70 gallon tank, you'll need 600 pounds of live rock."
All these statements and more were made by the airhead college girl employee who has 2 tanks. Keep in mind that she is older and more reef experienced than I am!
This same place has a CRAPPY 55 display tank. It has more hair algae than I have ever seen, a ton of live rock, seaclone skimmer, softies and polyps, and a very sad looking tomato clown. The water is a little discolored...
Well such intelligence levels will follow a bell-curve distribution. When they (or the layman article writer?) said "average", perhaps they were referring to people whose measured intelligence level fell within one standard deviation of the mean (which I think would encompass about 70-80%, leaving about 10%-15% at either end of the spectrum)... Any statisticians out there?
swreefer,
This is not as idiotic as it first appears. There is still a fair proportion of the US population that is not online. (That doesn't apply to our board members, however.)
Add to that the number of people online that will look at items, but refuse to complete a purchase online. They do not want to send their credit card information, even encrypted, over the Internet. For those people that fall into these 2 categories, the LFS owner actually gave a reasonable suggestion. It just doesn't sound reasonable to us high-level savvy Internet users. To newbies or nonebies, it is not so bad.
I have to do a fair amount of number crunching as a market researcher. jdeets makes a good comment about averaging those numbers. The mean (average) can become skewed due to one number averaged in with the rest.
Sometimes a better measure of central tendency is the use of the median. The median is the number in the middle of a set of numbers. Half of the numbers have a value greater than the median and half have values that are less. In jdeets example, the median is 70.
No flames or insults were intended by my post.
All added up this is my $.04 worth.
This is not as idiotic as it first appears. There is still a fair proportion of the US population that is not online. (That doesn't apply to our board members, however.)
Add to that the number of people online that will look at items, but refuse to complete a purchase online. They do not want to send their credit card information, even encrypted, over the Internet. For those people that fall into these 2 categories, the LFS owner actually gave a reasonable suggestion. It just doesn't sound reasonable to us high-level savvy Internet users. To newbies or nonebies, it is not so bad.
I have to do a fair amount of number crunching as a market researcher. jdeets makes a good comment about averaging those numbers. The mean (average) can become skewed due to one number averaged in with the rest.
Sometimes a better measure of central tendency is the use of the median. The median is the number in the middle of a set of numbers. Half of the numbers have a value greater than the median and half have values that are less. In jdeets example, the median is 70.
No flames or insults were intended by my post.
All added up this is my $.04 worth.
By definition, an average IQ is 100. That is the way the test is set up. Examples given with 5 or 6 numbers, then showing the average, do not have enough sample size to determine the actual average (i.e that of every single person on the Earth). In any statistical model, you are taking a limited group and when using THE PROPER statistical priciples (this is a very important statement) trying to draw a conclusion about the entire population based on that limited group. That is why sample size is extremely important.
I deal with this every day reading medical literature. Would you want to take a drug that was tested on 5 people who had no adverse outcome and thus drawing a conclusion that the drug is safe? I wouldn't. That is why many side effects of drugs are not discovered until they are released to the general public (this is precisely why I never prescribe new drugs until they have been out for a couple of years).
The reason statistics can be misleading many times is that the wrong statistical analysis are used for a given study. It depends on the type of study and the types of data that are collected as to what statistical analysis are used. If you use the wrong one, you get the wrong answer and subsequently draw the wrong conclusion.
Back to the original statement, IQ is set up as a bell distribution. The average IQ is 100 (that is the way the test is set up) This is simple fact. And the previous statments about distribution and standard deviations are true for any distribution following a bell curve. Check out this link for further explanation of IQ.
http://www.iqtest.com/scoreexplain.html
Jay
[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: Jay ]
I deal with this every day reading medical literature. Would you want to take a drug that was tested on 5 people who had no adverse outcome and thus drawing a conclusion that the drug is safe? I wouldn't. That is why many side effects of drugs are not discovered until they are released to the general public (this is precisely why I never prescribe new drugs until they have been out for a couple of years).
The reason statistics can be misleading many times is that the wrong statistical analysis are used for a given study. It depends on the type of study and the types of data that are collected as to what statistical analysis are used. If you use the wrong one, you get the wrong answer and subsequently draw the wrong conclusion.
Back to the original statement, IQ is set up as a bell distribution. The average IQ is 100 (that is the way the test is set up) This is simple fact. And the previous statments about distribution and standard deviations are true for any distribution following a bell curve. Check out this link for further explanation of IQ.
http://www.iqtest.com/scoreexplain.html
Jay
[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: Jay ]
Hahahahha
You guys crack me up!
That pic of the guy with the hands-free headset came from some web site (tardsite.com). hahhahahahha
I just thought it was funny. I was only quoting from the guy's web site about Southerners. I didn't mean to poke fun at Southerners, but I thought the photo was too funny!
hahahha
Naaaahhhh... just kidding... We northerners are "bad-a$$", so there....
-Nathan
PS See what happens when my boss makes me work too hard on a Friday afternoon at 3:30pm!
[ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: Nathan ]
You guys crack me up!
That pic of the guy with the hands-free headset came from some web site (tardsite.com). hahhahahahha
I just thought it was funny. I was only quoting from the guy's web site about Southerners. I didn't mean to poke fun at Southerners, but I thought the photo was too funny!
Naaaahhhh... just kidding... We northerners are "bad-a$$", so there....
-Nathan
PS See what happens when my boss makes me work too hard on a Friday afternoon at 3:30pm!
[ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: Nathan ]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nathan:
<STRONG>PS See what happens when my boss makes me work too hard on a Friday afternoon at 3:30pm!</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
So when you're supposed to be working you're actually surfing the net looking at jokes? Hmmmm. Who's lazy now?
Rick
<STRONG>PS See what happens when my boss makes me work too hard on a Friday afternoon at 3:30pm!</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
So when you're supposed to be working you're actually surfing the net looking at jokes? Hmmmm. Who's lazy now?
Rick
I read years ago that Aquarists have the highest IQs among pet owners. Supposedly aquarists are more cerebral. Hey Nathan I saw your post, late last night I wondered about you, but gave you the benefit of the doubt.
[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: AFH ]
[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: AFH ]
[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: AFH ]
[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: AFH ]
Well I must be in the top 15 per cent for brains because I am sure tired of reading this post!! I thought we are discussing what dumb things we have heard at the LFS?
Stay with the topic!
Anyways------------I had a LFS employee come up to me and ask me; There is a lady by the reef tank and she wants to split a LR and would it hurt the LR to split it in half and give her half since the LR is alive.
That was a hard one to maintain my expression and say "It will be fine". Johnny
Stay with the topic!
Anyways------------I had a LFS employee come up to me and ask me; There is a lady by the reef tank and she wants to split a LR and would it hurt the LR to split it in half and give her half since the LR is alive.
That was a hard one to maintain my expression and say "It will be fine". Johnny
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
