[ weird things ] | statistics
articles tagged: statistics
how the news, polls, and social media distort elections
# politics

how the news, polls, and social media distort elections

It turns out that polls and predictions of who'll win, along with fake news appealing to our cognitive dissonances, are changing outcomes of elections before we even have them.

is it time to abandon the gdp as a measure of economic success?
# politics

is it time to abandon the gdp as a measure of economic success?

When we want to see if economy is growing or to measure its relative size to others, we use the gross domestic product, or GDP. But what if this number is horribly misleading?

world of weird things podcast: how we teach math doesn’t add up
# podcast

world of weird things podcast: how we teach math doesn’t add up

If we want more kids to pursue careers in STEM, they need to study math. But what type of math they study matters.

the weird things year in review, 2018
# tech

the weird things year in review, 2018

As 2018 winds down, it’s time to take a quick look back at what happened this year before we ring in the new one...

how statistical literacy can turn conventional wisdom on its head
# politics

how statistical literacy can turn conventional wisdom on its head

A thorough study of prison records spanning 15 years shows that recidivism is actually a lot lower than the numbers commonly cited in the media.

why science says not to feed the trolls
# tech

why science says not to feed the trolls

After analyzing millions of comments researchers can say for sure that the best way to deal with trolls is with deafening silence.

does meeting online mean a better marriage? sort of, but don’t get carried away…
# tech

does meeting online mean a better marriage? sort of, but don’t get carried away…

A study finds that couple who met online end up in more stable, happier marriages. But there are a few small caveats that need to be addressed...

the weird things year in review, third edition
# tech

the weird things year in review, third edition

Another year, another peek under the hood of Weird Things.

why darwin was right about the tree of life
# evolution

why darwin was right about the tree of life

A study of how proteins are encoded and translated across a dozen species shows that life on Earth had only one population of universal common ancestors.

the weird things year in review
# tech

the weird things year in review

A look at all the top stats of 2009 on the last day of the year.

older articles