Thursday, November 1, 2018

The Problem with Green Jelly Beans

Those who have faced issues of "statistical significance" and the use of a p-value of 5%  might appreciate this cartoon from xkcd.com. It's an oldie from back around 2011, but a goodie.

For a punchline, you can imagine the follow-up headline: "So, uh, we did the green study again and got no link. It was probably a-- "RESEARCH CONFLICTED ON GREEN JELLY BEAN/ACNE LINK; MORE STUDY RECOMMENDED!""