> A mandatory class in statistics and applied probability theory could maybe help the next generation to accept that what is fair may not look so at a first gla

> A mandatory class in statistics and applied probability theory could maybe help the next generation to accept that what is fair may not look so at a first glance. To be honest, I don't think this will help much since most people won't interested in it and will forget what they learn as soon as the class is over. Also, being an expert in statistics can help you better understand reality, or it can help you present data in a way that confirms your biases (even unintentionally). It's sort of like sophistry, except not quite to that degree or moral ambivalence. edit: If you want a good example of this, see Scott Alexander show how parapsychology can actually come up with some pretty good statistics while appearing to check off all the right boxes with regard to experimental design: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-ou...