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Yep.
From an interview in the Hairpin with MacArthur fellow Susan Murphy:
Does being a statistician make you read the news differently? Are you always looking at polling or study reports and thinking that things are poorly designed, or interpreted incorrectly?
Oh yeah. I see alternative explanations for results in the news all the time.
Does that bother you?
Well, I've got this viewpoint—and I don't know if this is very mature—but I think it's a big game out there, and we all have to be prepared to play it. Everyone is trying to frame things in their own way, and we all have to try and be as educated as possible so we can understand the degree to which it's a game, and know if someone's trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Even if it's someone I agree with!
That's why I wish more logical thinking was taught in high school. Many people will never use algebra again, but logic and statistics, you can use that in real life. You need to be critical about new drugs coming out, about numbers you see. People understand that critical thinking is important from a qualitative point of view, but it's just as important from a quantitative point of view. I wish they taught that stuff everywhere, and earlier. Like for someone who doesn't go to college—I think a really good life is to become an electrician or plumber, for example. They make a lot of money, it's stable, but maybe they didn't get an advanced critical thinking education that would benefit them just living in the world. Why didn't they get that? Why shouldn't they get that?
Does being a statistician make you read the news differently? Are you always looking at polling or study reports and thinking that things are poorly designed, or interpreted incorrectly?
Oh yeah. I see alternative explanations for results in the news all the time.
Does that bother you?
Well, I've got this viewpoint—and I don't know if this is very mature—but I think it's a big game out there, and we all have to be prepared to play it. Everyone is trying to frame things in their own way, and we all have to try and be as educated as possible so we can understand the degree to which it's a game, and know if someone's trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Even if it's someone I agree with!
That's why I wish more logical thinking was taught in high school. Many people will never use algebra again, but logic and statistics, you can use that in real life. You need to be critical about new drugs coming out, about numbers you see. People understand that critical thinking is important from a qualitative point of view, but it's just as important from a quantitative point of view. I wish they taught that stuff everywhere, and earlier. Like for someone who doesn't go to college—I think a really good life is to become an electrician or plumber, for example. They make a lot of money, it's stable, but maybe they didn't get an advanced critical thinking education that would benefit them just living in the world. Why didn't they get that? Why shouldn't they get that?