How to insult a nation in 6 words

[twentysix by twentyfive]

The way they batted today, the wicket might as well have been made of toffee...


But back to topic. A classic example of 'how to lie with statistics', I think, and reading the headline and the opening paragraph, I'm inclined to agree with the 'insult' claims. They could equally have conjured up a headline like "xx% of adults in Scotland drink the equivalent of more than yy bottles of Vodka..." ("...Whisky"?), whatever the values "xx" and "yy" turn out to be. That would have equally explained that there is a problem, but would have presented it in a far different light. Or they could even have gone all technical and stated the variance or sigma, but that would have lost most people who stop at the lies rather than the stats...

But the data is crude

X amount of alcohol sold
Y people over 18
so X/Y per person
No idea from that data what sigma might be.

Even so it's not a good number (X/Y) if one has any concern for folks' health.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

The way they batted today, the wicket might as well have been made of toffee...


But back to topic. A classic example of 'how to lie with statistics', I think, and reading the headline and the opening paragraph, I'm inclined to agree with the 'insult' claims. They could equally have conjured up a headline like "xx% of adults in Scotland drink the equivalent of more than yy bottles of Vodka..." ("...Whisky"?), whatever the values "xx" and "yy" turn out to be. That would have equally explained that there is a problem, but would have presented it in a far different light. Or they could even have gone all technical and stated the variance or sigma, but that would have lost most people who stop at the lies rather than the stats...

But the data is crude

X amount of alcohol sold
Y people over 18
so X/Y per person
No idea from that data what sigma might be.

Even so it's not a good number (X/Y) if one has any concern for folks' health.

 

[661-Pete]

But the data is crude

X amount of alcohol sold
Y people over 18
so X/Y per person
No idea from that data what sigma might be.

Even so it's not a good number (X/Y) if one has any concern for folks' health.

You are right, the data as presented in the BBC headline article, is crude. If the analysis was simply, as stated:

The research was based on industry sales data analysed by NHS Health Scotland.

i.e. obtained simply by dividing the number of units of alcohol sold throughout Scotland, by the adult population of Scotland, then you would end up with a very crude result providing no clues as to how to tackle the problem.

That is why I think some information about the distribution of this figure is important. Indeed such data is probably buried in the original study, which I admit I didn't look at - but the BBC would probably have deemed this bit of detail not news-worthy.

As to how to tackle the stats - well I agree a simple sigma wouldn't be sufficient here. I can hardly imagine that drinking figures follow a totally random gaussian distribution nestling under a nice neat bell-curve...

 

[661-Pete]

But the data is crude

X amount of alcohol sold
Y people over 18
so X/Y per person
No idea from that data what sigma might be.

Even so it's not a good number (X/Y) if one has any concern for folks' health.

You are right, the data as presented in the BBC headline article, is crude. If the analysis was simply, as stated:

The research was based on industry sales data analysed by NHS Health Scotland.

i.e. obtained simply by dividing the number of units of alcohol sold throughout Scotland, by the adult population of Scotland, then you would end up with a very crude result providing no clues as to how to tackle the problem.

That is why I think some information about the distribution of this figure is important. Indeed such data is probably buried in the original study, which I admit I didn't look at - but the BBC would probably have deemed this bit of detail not news-worthy.

As to how to tackle the stats - well I agree a simple sigma wouldn't be sufficient here. I can hardly imagine that drinking figures follow a totally random gaussian distribution nestling under a nice neat bell-curve...

 

[Wigsie]

"Jocks are all ginger, fat and stupid"

"England can not bat for toffee"

How can it be insulting when its as Joe24 used to say..... FACT

 

[Wigsie]

"Jocks are all ginger, fat and stupid"

"England can not bat for toffee"

How can it be insulting when its as Joe24 used to say..... FACT

 

[jimboalee]

A Scots lad who worked with me once told me...

"Vodka is the perfect way to clean midges off your crash helmet visor."

Also windscreens, no doubt.

 

[jimboalee]

A Scots lad who worked with me once told me...

"Vodka is the perfect way to clean midges off your crash helmet visor."

Also windscreens, no doubt.

 

[ufkacbln]

"England can not bat for toffee"

In this health concious world that is encouraging bad habits


"England can not bat for tofu" is much better and more importantly healthier

 

[ufkacbln]

"England can not bat for toffee"

In this health concious world that is encouraging bad habits


"England can not bat for tofu" is much better and more importantly healthier

 

[ComedyPilot]

How to insult a body of people in 6 words?

BBC are up their own @rses

 

[ComedyPilot]

How to insult a body of people in 6 words?

BBC are up their own @rses

 

[telesonic99]

"French Military Victories - no matching documents"

 

[telesonic99]

"French Military Victories - no matching documents"

 

[karen.488walker]

Maybe the scots don't drink that much because they're scottish but because they have to live with scottish people. Thus, justifying my own over indulgence in the stuff. Just thinking about my mother in la could justify 2 bottles alone.