I’m in love with STATS.org!
This is a really great site full of tons of information. Their mission:
STATS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the George Mason University. Our mission is to improve the quality of scientific and statistical information in public discourse and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on scientific issues and controversies.
I maintain that it’s tough to be a critical thinker when you’re not a scientist. And this site demonstrates that it’s also tough when you’re not a statistician. I was browsing around and found this fascinating article on acupuncture and fertility.
Turns out the media reported that acupuncture really helps fertility, but they actually just misunderstood the stats. Or they didn’t care to report them correctly! This site is a great resource. Thanks to Nancy McDermott for pointing it out.
pinky Said,
October 10, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
I agree. I am glad other folks are thinking this way too. Stats is very misunderstood. Some folks say “oh you can make anything look true with stats.” My reply is “Not if you understand the statistics which most folks do not. In our society it is crucial that we have more critical thinkers who can do the math for themselves. I salute your efforts!