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The source of information matters. This is doubly true for statistical claims since: * statistics are often counter-intuitive, * they are easy to manipulate o
by EthanHeilman 11y ago
The source of information matters. This is doubly true for statistical claims since:
* statistics are often counter-intuitive,
* they are easy to manipulate or misinterpret,
* manipulation requires significant effort to discover,
* they are sometimes correct in form but the data is biased,
* bias in the data might have been mentioned by the initial data collectors but the analyzers may omit it (either intentionally or accidentally).
- yummyfajitas 11y agoClearly multiplying "number of white victims" by "percentage of white victims with offenders who are black" is easy to manipulate and misinterpret, as well as counterintuitive. And detecting an arithmetic error would require significant effort. I'd have to open up ipython, copy&pasting the numbers, remove the commas and other formatting, and then press enter. Um, ok.
- jazzyk 11y agoBut the original source of the information is the DOJ. Government statistics may not always be perfect, but are you implying that the government is guilty of purposefully manipulating data? Why?