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Insightful essay on misleading gender and workplace violence stats in the MSM

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2009-11-22 21:19.

Via Jeremy S. An oldie but a goodie, here. Excerpt:

'When reporting on gender issues, the media sometimes misrepresent statistics in a way that severely disfigures the reality of the sexes. Take Time magazine’s report from some years ago comparing male and female victims of workplace violence. At the bottom of Time's archived page entitled “Odds & Trends” is what Darrell Huff, author of How to Lie with Statistics, would call a “statisticulation,” the misinforming of people via statistical manipulation. Here is Time's statisticulation exactly as the magazine printed it:

THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH ON THE JOB FOR WOMEN IS HOMICIDE. OF WOMEN FATALLY HURT AT WORK FROM 1980 TO 1985, 42% WERE MURDERED, 64% BY GUN. AMONG MEN, ACCIDENTS ARE THE TOP OCCUPATIONAL KILLER; HOMICIDES ACCOUNT FOR JUST 12%

Describing the men's homicide rate as “just 12%,” Time completes its statisticulation, its lie that at work the sex facing the far greater murder risk is women.

To coax readers into accepting the lie as fact, Time first had to deceive them into thinking that as many workplace women are fatally hurt as men. It achieved that deception, at least to its own liking, by simply omitting the actual workplace homicide numbers.'

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Statistics are like a bikini

Submitted by Kris on Mon, 2009-11-23 06:08.

Statistics are like a bikini: What they reveal is interesting, what they hide is sinful.

(That's what one of my professors used to always say.)

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