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Post by ausador on Apr 24, 2009 0:03:36 GMT -5
I thought it was 79% of statistics that were made up?  |
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Post by Undecided on Apr 24, 2009 0:11:51 GMT -5
Actually, it can be any number you want it to be.
Suppose that there are p groups of people that do make up statistics, and q that don't. This makes for a total of p+q groups. Assuming that any statistic is equally likely to be given out by each of these groups, the chance that a statistic is made up is p/(p+q). It is a property of fractions that this number can be made as close to any given probability as we desire by suitable choice of p and q. Therefore, when we say that "x percent of statistics are made up," as long as the number is between 0 and 100 percent inclusive, we are always right somehow.
Confuddling people with maths can be a scintillating experience.
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Post by Sigmaleph on Apr 24, 2009 12:06:43 GMT -5
So, if you don't give a crap about reality, you can make up numbers. You don't need maths to tells you that... :D
(85.3% agree)
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Post by Tiger on Apr 24, 2009 17:43:44 GMT -5
I thought it was 79% of statistics that were made up?  |
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