http://horse-you-rode-in-on.com/2008/01/09/projecting-a-problem/ Random rants and curious explanation. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:30:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 http://horse-you-rode-in-on.com/2008/01/09/projecting-a-problem/#comment-595 Steve Alber Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:10:03 +0000 http://horse-you-rode-in-on.com/2008/01/09/projecting-a-problem/#comment-595 To elucidate – or perhaps, to reiterate – your last paragraph: statistical analyses are models; elections are the real thing (unless, of course, the Republican party is counting the votes, and then all bets are off). The beauty of statistics is that in the hands of the right (or left) people, they can mean anything you want them to mean. I had a calculus teacher in high school named Doc Wagner. He could draw a perfect circle on the blackboard using his elbow as the center point and the rest of his forearm as the radius. He was a rotten calculus teacher, but he was a nice guy, He once told me, and I quote, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure." Every time I look at the results of a poll, I think of old Doc Wagner, and I envy him his perspicacity. To elucidate – or perhaps, to reiterate – your last paragraph: statistical analyses are models; elections are the real thing (unless, of course, the Republican party is counting the votes, and then all bets are off). The beauty of statistics is that in the hands of the right (or left) people, they can mean anything you want them to mean. I had a calculus teacher in high school named Doc Wagner. He could draw a perfect circle on the blackboard using his elbow as the center point and the rest of his forearm as the radius. He was a rotten calculus teacher, but he was a nice guy, He once told me, and I quote, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” Every time I look at the results of a poll, I think of old Doc Wagner, and I envy him his perspicacity.

]]> http://horse-you-rode-in-on.com/2008/01/09/projecting-a-problem/#comment-597 Al Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:33:19 +0000 http://horse-you-rode-in-on.com/2008/01/09/projecting-a-problem/#comment-597 Wasn't it Doc Wagner who calculated the statistic that the average American has one ball and one tit? Wasn’t it Doc Wagner who calculated the statistic that the average American has one ball and one tit?

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