4 ms·

One data point isn't that useful. > At age 111, America's oldest veteran is still smoking cigars, drinking whiskey and loving life > Richard Overton smokes 12

• bovermyer 4y ago
  From a scientific perspective, no. But from a motivational perspective, it is.
  • fezfight 4y ago
    Bike rides are nice (maybe the best?) but not everyone is the same. My mother in law is awaiting hip surgery after a lifetime of being physically active. Her husband, who lived the same life, is older, has no such problems. Of course genetics plays a part, that's the point.
• awillen 4y ago
  You're clearly wrong as it relates to the post you're responding to. This one data point is going to get him to engage in a behavior that's healthier than the one he otherwise would've been engaged in, which is clearly good. Thus, the data point is useful! Not everything his to be a double blind study showing significant effects to be useful.
  • avgDev 4y ago
    Well, from the one data point @eesmith provided, I'm picking up smoking as it must have done SOMETHIN for that guy.
  • eesmith 4y ago
    > behavior that's healthier You presume it's healthier. Suppose that 99.99% of the 80+ year-olds who try this end up breaking their leg, getting a heart attack, etc., and this one data point is from the 0.01% which benefits. Likely not - but that's why we have double blind studies.
    • outworlder 4y ago
      We _know_ it's 'healthier' than drinking and playing video games.
      • eesmith 4y ago
        Yes, because we have far more than one data point. Nor am I going to take up smoking because a 111 year old smokes them regularly.