Metrics Mania and the Countless Counting Problem 138
mobkarma writes "Einstein once said, 'Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.' A New York Times article suggests that unless we know how things are counted, we don't know if it's wise to count on the numbers. The problem isn't with statistical tests themselves, but with what we do before and after we run them. If a person starts drinking day in and day out after a cancer diagnosis and dies from acute cirrhosis, did he kill himself? The answers to such questions significantly affect the count."
Technically (Score:4, Funny)
Cancer itself could be considered a form of killing yourself.
I thought the joke went the other way? (Score:2, Funny)
Q: What did the clinically depressed alcoholic man with acute cirrhosis get for Christmas?
A: Cancer
Re:How about this (Score:1, Funny)
I'm only 47% sure that your post is a joke...
Re:cirrhosis (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How about this (Score:4, Funny)
had about as much bearing on accident rates as the price of butter in Bangladesh does.
Thanks, now I have to check the price of butter in Bangladesh to see whether it's safe to drive home, you insensitive clod!
Figures (Score:2, Funny)
I finally learn how to count and now they tell me it's useless. What's next, I learn how to type and I find out nobody is reading what I write?
Re:Figures (Score:3, Funny)
tl;dr
Re:Technically (Score:3, Funny)