Monday, September 22, 2008

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Have you ever wondered which countries have the most corrupt governments? Or which countries have the highest CO2 emissions? Or most liters of beer consumed? All this and whole plethora of other stats can be found at NationMaster.com. It is a collection of user made graphs based off numerical data found from various sources, mainly the CIA Factbook. Though the site looks pretty straight foward, I would caution those who look at these statistics to keep a critical eye on the sources of the data. Remember:


A statistical analysis, properly conducted, is a delicate dissection of uncertainties, a surgery of suppositions.
~M.J. Moroney

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