American Gun Ownership Highest In 18 Years

Started by jimmy olsen, October 27, 2011, 10:48:23 AM

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Tonitrus

Quote from: DGuller on November 22, 2011, 07:22:13 PM
Quote from: dps on November 22, 2011, 06:09:11 PM
Quote from: DGuller on November 22, 2011, 09:28:25 AM
Quote from: Valdemar on November 22, 2011, 08:14:58 AM
Why the drop in early 90s?

V
Probably because these statistics are total shit, and aren't scrubbed for bad or inconsistent data?

Polling data really isn't statistics.
:huh: What is it then?

I suck at math, but it seems to fit more in the realm of "Probability" to me.

Admiral Yi

Quote from: Tonitrus on November 22, 2011, 08:58:20 PM
I suck at math, but it seems to fit more in the realm of "Probability" to me.

That's what statistics is.  You sample a population (for example conduct a survey), then you make inferences about the population based on the sample response.

dps

Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 22, 2011, 09:01:50 PM
Quote from: Tonitrus on November 22, 2011, 08:58:20 PM
I suck at math, but it seems to fit more in the realm of "Probability" to me.

That's what statistics is.  You sample a population (for example conduct a survey), then you make inferences about the population based on the sample response.

Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to say that they aren't "hard" stats.  If you have motor vehicle registration from all 50 states and DC, then you can add it all up and you can say with confidence how many motor vehicles are registered in the U.S.  If you scientifically poll a thousand US residents and ask them how many registed motor vehicle they own, you can infer how many registered motor vehicles are owned by individuals in the U.S., but it's an inference, not a certain number.

DGuller

Quote from: dps on November 22, 2011, 09:47:54 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 22, 2011, 09:01:50 PM
Quote from: Tonitrus on November 22, 2011, 08:58:20 PM
I suck at math, but it seems to fit more in the realm of "Probability" to me.

That's what statistics is.  You sample a population (for example conduct a survey), then you make inferences about the population based on the sample response.

Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to say that they aren't "hard" stats.  If you have motor vehicle registration from all 50 states and DC, then you can add it all up and you can say with confidence how many motor vehicles are registered in the U.S.  If you scientifically poll a thousand US residents and ask them how many registed motor vehicle they own, you can infer how many registered motor vehicles are owned by individuals in the U.S., but it's an inference, not a certain number.
Statistics is all about making inferences.  Taking a census is not an exercise in statistics, it's an exercise in counting.  The definition of a statistic is an estimator, which by definition implies lack of total information.  Of course, in common use, we do sometimes refer to tabulated numbers as statistics, but that's not a technically correct use of the word.

fhdz

Quote from: DGuller on November 23, 2011, 01:42:57 AM
Statistics is all about making inferences.  Taking a census is not an exercise in statistics, it's an exercise in counting.  The definition of a statistic is an estimator, which by definition implies lack of total information.

Precisely this.
and the horse you rode in on

Admiral Yi

It's two different uses of the same word.  When you ask what Tebow's stats were last weekend you're not asking what about the sample mean and the 9%% confidence interval, you're asking how many passes he completed and how many rushing yards he had.

The Brain

Women want me. Men want to be with me.

fhdz

and the horse you rode in on

Siege



"All men are created equal, then some become infantry."

"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't."

"Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même!"


MadImmortalMan

"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

Razgovory

Is this another one of Siege's Disney kids?
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Siege



"All men are created equal, then some become infantry."

"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't."

"Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même!"


Caliga

I, on the other hand, would drill Charisma Carpenter like an Arab looking for oil.
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

dps


crazy canuck

Quote from: Caliga on November 23, 2011, 08:06:25 PM
I, on the other hand, would drill Charisma Carpenter like an Arab looking for oil.

You would use a mechanical device or ask someone else to do it while you watched?