Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Saga Lout »

DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:37 am
'Statistics' just don't really work with big numbers though.
Yes they do. In fact, the bigger the numbers the better they work. Sample size matters.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Mussels »

Statistics are very easy to manipulate to prove whatever argument you want, whenever I see them used my first thought is "What did they deliberately miss out?".
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Yorick »

65% of statistics are made up :)
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by DefTrap »

Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:57 am
DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:37 am
'Statistics' just don't really work with big numbers though.
Yes they do. In fact, the bigger the numbers the better they work. Sample size matters.
That wasn't what I was trying to get across.
'that tiny line' just looks tiny. It's 10s of thousands of actual people to 'so what?' about.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

Yorick wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:32 pm 65% of statistics are made up :)
My wife used to produce statistics for the NHS, when Labour came into power in 1997 they didn't like what the statistics showed (that the NHS was a bit shit) so they changed the way waiting lists (and other measures) were counted to make the figures look better, when the hospital my wife worked failed these figures, she was told (by the hospital Chief Exec.) to change the figures so that they met the targets, she left the NHS soon after that.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by KungFooBob »

Potter wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 1:01 pmI'm Batman.
You can be my batman... now go dig me a foxhole.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:32 pm That wasn't what I was trying to get across.
'that tiny line' just looks tiny. It's 10s of thousands of actual people to 'so what?' about.
Exactly.

As you say, statistics are a poor illustrator of things sometimes when you've got big numbers. If anything that video just shows how big a number 80 million actually is, not how few people have died.

Besides, if I came and hoofed you in the nads would you draw comfort from the fact I didn't hoof 99.9999985% in the knackers?
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Saga Lout »

Mussels wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:19 am Statistics are very easy to manipulate to prove whatever argument you want, whenever I see them used my first thought is "What did they deliberately miss out?".
What answer did you come up with? What did they deliberately miss out?
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Saga Lout »

DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:32 pm That wasn't what I was trying to get across.
'that tiny line' just looks tiny. It's 10s of thousands of actual people to 'so what?' about.
That tiny line is there to give some context to the big, scary numbers.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by JackyJoll »

KungFooBob wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:31 pm I've only got one conspiracy theory nut job friend.... my best mate from school.

Who is now a post-op transexual lorry driver.

Make of that what you will.
Cosmetic surgery on the waterworks doesn’t sound like a good idea for long distance driving.
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Post by Docca »

I won’t un-friend someone on Facebook simply because they don’t believe in Covid or don’t want to be vaccinated. That’s their view. I will however, and have, removed people who have converted into stuck records about it. Same for all things though; brexit, religion etc
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by DefTrap »

Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:04 pm

That tiny line is there to give some context to the big, scary numbers.
Which probably is fine if the population represented on the 'big stick of wgaf' question is 'trees' or 'marmosets', we can all say 'oh well' and go back to our dinners.

This is just a super callous way of presenting an argument, in this ongoing situation
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Noggin »

gremlin wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:41 am
Noggin wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:22 pm but with four cats
And with that, M'lud, the prosecution rests its case.
HEY!!! :o I'd probably have 4 cats if I had a place big enough!! :lol: (I used to have three cats a long time ago!)


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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Saga Lout »

DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:51 pm
Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:04 pm

That tiny line is there to give some context to the big, scary numbers.
Which probably is fine if the population represented on the 'big stick of wgaf' question is 'trees' or 'marmosets', we can all say 'oh well' and go back to our dinners.

This is just a super callous way of presenting an argument, in this ongoing situation
Callous? It's just a way of presenting the numbers so you can make sense of them. About 10 people in 1,000 die in the UK each year. COVID-19 has made very little difference to that number. We're currently near the bottom of the curve at 9.429. Is it callous to point out that our current death rate is lower by some margin than it was during the second half of the last century?

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/G ... death-rate
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Mussels »

Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:02 pm
Mussels wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:19 am Statistics are very easy to manipulate to prove whatever argument you want, whenever I see them used my first thought is "What did they deliberately miss out?".
What answer did you come up with? What did they deliberately miss out?
In that instance they are ignoring measures in place to reduce the infection rate and using those numbers to say restrictions aren't necessary. Lift all the restrictions and their numbers won't work.
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Horse »

Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:14 pm Is it callous to point out that our current death rate is lower by some margin than it was during the second half of the last century?
Not sure what point you're making. Are you saying we could/should happily lose a few more?
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by DefTrap »

Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:14 pm
DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:51 pm
Saga Lout wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:04 pm

That tiny line is there to give some context to the big, scary numbers.
Which probably is fine if the population represented on the 'big stick of wgaf' question is 'trees' or 'marmosets', we can all say 'oh well' and go back to our dinners.

This is just a super callous way of presenting an argument, in this ongoing situation
Callous? It's just a way of presenting the numbers so you can make sense of them. About 10 people in 1,000 die in the UK each year. COVID-19 has made very little difference to that number. We're currently near the bottom of the curve at 9.429. Is it callous to point out that our current death rate is lower by some margin than it was during the second half of the last century?

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/G ... death-rate
So what is exactly your point?
I'm no longer interested in that you don't think the big numbers are of interest, as we clearly don't agree.

I don't want to put words in your mouth but you think we should all get out now, crack on and let the weak and vulnerable take their chances? If not, why not?
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Re: Covid conspiracies / rants/ BS

Post by Horse »

DefTrap wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:59 pm So what is exactly your point?
I'm no longer interested in that you don't think the big numbers are of interest, as we clearly don't agree.

I don't want to put words in your mouth but you think we should all get out now, crack on and let the weak and vulnerable take their chances? If not, why not?
I don't (as posted a few minutes ago) understand either.

However, IIRC Saga is at risk for health reasons, so stands to benefit from any reduction.

If - and we probably have no way of knowing for certain - there had been no lockdowns, no development of vaccines, no masks enforced, etc., then the effects on the country would still have been substantial, simply from increased numbers of people off sick so unable to work. Whether that work was essential or not. Whether it was maintaining services, or food, whatever.

Again IIRC the only thing SL wanted was some preference on food shopping. That always assumes there enough people still at work growing, harvesting, slaughtering, processing, etc.
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