> That is why statistics are a horrible tool for decision making. Statistical illiteracy is a horrible tool for decision making. Statistics is the only tool fo

> That is why statistics are a horrible tool for decision making. Statistical illiteracy is a horrible tool for decision making. Statistics is the only tool for decision making other than pure guesswork, because all decisions based on data are statistical inferences. If something doesn't make sense on a statistical basis, it's almost certainly the case that the statistical analysis was naive. A statistical inference of the probability of survival of a particular patient that doesn't take into account any characteristics of that patient is naive in the extreme. We aren't interested in the average patient, we care about the average patient whose risk profile most closely resembles our patient.