Attn: JMS, Re: No Hugo for *SiL*

 Posted on 9/18/1999 by jmsatb5@aol.com to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated


>> There are three kind of lies. Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Yes,
>> but there is an error in the logic JMS. You have more viewers towards
>> the end of the poll then you did at the begining. (Season 1 had fewer
>> people then season two and so on and so forth).

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to reply to this, but every time I see the
quote preceding, I fall down laughing and I get bumped offline.

Talking about errors in logic...once again, Von Bruno, you demonstrate your
own, in the most glaring way imaginable. It's the ultimate topper to your
preceding inaccuracies. This one is so massive and expansive that it's just
breathtaking.

Do you know *anything* about polling or public opinion measurement? Before you
answer, let me save you the time: no. I do. I have a degree in clinical
psychology and a second degree in sociology, and as part of that had to take
any number of specialized courses in polling and public opinion measurement.

And here's where your logic falls down utterly. Let me requote the above:

>> There are three kind of lies. Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Yes,
>> but there is an error in the logic JMS. You have more viewers towards
>> the end of the poll then you did at the begining. (Season 1 had fewer
>> people then season two and so on and so forth).

The more people you have in a poll, THE MORE ACCURATE IT IS. The fewer people,
the less accurate. That utterly incontestable fact is at the core of every
poll ever taken. That's why they usually show you the raw numbers ("In a poll
of two thousand people, ten percent thought Mars was not a planet but a candy
bar").

So the very element you claim made it LESS accurate in fact made it
statistically MORE accurate.

Just once, could you try to actually *know* something about what we're
discussing here? Do just a *little* homework from time to time? Because right
now, you're 0 for 5 on basic facts, just in the last round.

And by the way, this is probably the last time I'm going to respond to you. I
can't lose that much work time laughing anymore.

jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
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