> Statistics has probably done more damage to the world than any other discipline, by giving a sheen of respectability to fake science in fields like nutrition,

> Statistics has probably done more damage to the world than any other discipline, by giving a sheen of respectability to fake science in fields like nutrition, psychology, economics, and medicine. I think it's unfair to represent the class of people that misrepresent their findings (charlatans and liars) as a problem with statistics. I'd blame that on poor understanding of statistics and the publish or perish mindset of academia. > the statisticians either didn't understand the mistake, or liked their cushy jobs too much to yell loudly about the problem You're obviously not someone that considers themselves a statistician. I do, and we have been basically telling everyone that would listen that there are huge fundamental issues with the way many scientists hinge their whole careers on p-values and similar things. Whether that message has been properly received is another story. The American Statistical Association has even published multiple official statements cautioning against the use p-values, the 0.05 cutoff, and using a single quantity to assess the impact and validity of anything. See [1] The ASA's Statement on p-Values: Context, Process, and Purpose and [2] Moving to a World Beyond "p < 0.05". [1] https://amstat.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2016.1154108 https://amstat.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.201... [2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2019.1583913 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2019.1...