Good and bad graphics: We pre-
sented various examples, mostly
taken from Dammed Lies and Statistical Literacy Course
Statistics: Untangling Numbers from
Course Take-Aways
the Media, Politicians, and Activists
and More Dammed Lies and Numbers are an essential and highly valuable element of
Statistics: How Numbers Confuse numerous human endeavors—you can’t escape them.
Public Issues, by Joel Best.
Number studies further knowl-
Always ask:
edge: To end on a positive note,
who is taking/reporting the numbers?
we described insightful studies to
How were they obtained?
assess gender and race discrimina-
tion, identify archeological finds,
Have they been peer-reviewed?
and evaluate global warming.
what are the underlying assumptions?
Some good reading and
surfing: We provided a cat-
Be wary of:
egorized handout, highlighting
Advocates’ numbers
various books—such as Best’s
and Statistics: A Guide to the
Cherry-picking data selectively to support a cause
Unknown, by Roxy Peck, George
simple before and after comparisons
Casella, George W. Cobb, and
Roger Hoerl—and the Chance
Remember that the news media seek
News and Carl Bialik (Wall Street
newsy/surprising numbers
Journal Numbers Guy) web sites.
We concluded the course
Appreciate limitations of observational studies
with a summary of major “take-
and differentiate correlation from causation
aways.” See the sidebar “Course
Controlled (randomized) experimentation is the
Take-Aways.”
gold standard, but is often not attainable
Copies of the presentations
can be obtained from gerryhahn@ Recognize uncertainty: Nothing is certain,
yahoo.com. but death and taxes (Benjamin Franklin)
End of Class
Let numbers help you gain understanding,
More than 60 people took the
not intimidate you
course. The end-of-class survey
indicated that almost everyone
enjoyed it and felt it increased
their knowledge.
We succeeded in limiting the Finally, having five instructors
We were a little disappointed
technical discussion to essentials. give this mini-course together
to receive essentially no sugges-
The most complex idea presented exposed the class participants
tions about how the class could
was that of a confidence interval, to different perspectives and
be improved and no responses
a concept that, not unexpectedly, allowed each of us to focus on
to our request for participants
some participants found difficult. topics with which we were most
to bring in their own examples
When asked (by one advanced familiar. Hearing the same con-
from the media. But, we were
class participant) exactly how one cept (e.g., correlation versus
pleased with the extensive class
constructs such intervals, we side- causation) repeated by various
discussion that each of the topics
stepped the question by respond- instructors in different contexts
generated and we encouraged.
ing “[T]his is what you learn in an reinforced important points. n
Two participants commented to
introductory statistics course.”
us privately that, because of the
sensitive nature of the subject, Gerry Hahn and Necip Doganaksoy are (retired) manager-applied statistics and principal
we should not have included the
technologist-statistician, respectively, at the GE Global Research Center. Ricki Lewis is a
example dealing with the impact
geneticist and science writer. Jane Oppenlander and Professor Emeritus Josef Schmee are
of prayer on the outcome of
associated with Union College. We thank Jim Comly for inviting us, on behalf of UCALL,
to teach this course, for serving as course coordinator, and for many useful inputs. We also
bypass surgery.
thank Valerie D’Amario and Nancy Mancini for their valuable support.
FEBRUARY 2009 AmstAt News 19
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