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ShotSpotter is notoriously inaccurate… It can pick up fireworks and engine backfires. If you happen to live by say a motorcycle club, ShotSpotter might make you
by jdavis703 5y ago
ShotSpotter is notoriously inaccurate… It can pick up fireworks and engine backfires. If you happen to live by say a motorcycle club, ShotSpotter might make your block seem far more dangerous than it actually is.
- logicalmonster 5y agoYour comment is interesting and informative but doesn't really answer the question. Knowing that some data is imperfect, can it still be a useful data point for understanding the world? Is it unreasonable to use ShotSpotter as a tool in your toolbox for understanding the world just because we believe it to be imperfect?
- jdavis703 5y agoNo data source is perfect. In the absence of other data, it’s reasonable to use the least imperfect data source. But for example police will confirm ShotSpotter by locating shell casings, witness statements or EMS/hospital reports, so it’s better to look at aggravated assault and homicide data from the police to draw conclusions. Likewise for VAERS it makes more sense to look at the abundant amounts of analyzed information, or else provide a critique for why existing analysis was wrong. Presenting low-quality data without caveats or explanation to disprove higher-quality information seems to fall within the realm of misinformation.