Statistical Nonsense

Just read an article where the point being made was that 17% of Americans don't favor mandatory vaccinations.  Now that's not a particularly high number and a lot of them apparently are basing this on an article that was discredited linking vaccinations to autism, but it is a sad use of statistics.

First, if you don't have a child in the age group involved your opinion is likely to be about random.  Second, the word mandatory is always going to create some resistance, people don't like it.

So the article pointed out some of the prominent people, including our current President and Ben Carson (a doctor) who have expressed concerns.  However bottom line I read a story that really told me next to nothing.  Did they object to vaccinations or to the Government forcing people to do it? 

Now statistical studies are one way to make sense out of the world, but some things are statistically irrelevant, or maybe not.

Take for instance the increased use of opioids and the election of our current President. The one became an epidemic in parts of this country that swung to him in the election.  A part of me thinks it might be connected but two events happening at the same time do not mean one causes or is even related to the other.

During a period when actual unemployment decreased tremendously, large parts of the country feel it is still a major problem.  One possible reason for this is that the new jobs are not as good as the old jobs were.  So taking a low paying job at a retail establishment may leave the ex-factory worker feeling like he is really still unemployed.

Take resistance to things like Obamacare.  Without arguing the merits of the plan, the articles talk about increasing premiums and deductibles.  The increase in premiums and increased deductibles are not proven to be caused by the law, we see a similar trend in employee provided healthcare, it is more likely related to the aging of America and the increased cost of care.  However, take two facts that seem to have something in common (i.e. medicine) and treat them as causative. 

Terrorism is another example of people misusing statistics.  The level of fear related to terrorism is way our of proportion to the actual risk, especially in this country.  Also banning groups of people to prevent it has no statistical validity that I can find. 

Where the scientific community has provided valid statistical studies and evidence say Climate Change, we see many people refusing to accept it.  It is pretty much irrefutable but we are willing to believe that a 5 year old refugee is a threat but the millions of tons of carbon being released by a factory isn't.

Just nonsense.