An Example of Statistics in Action
An anecdote, related to an earlier discussion of divorce statistics.
Once upon a time, I was sitting at a table with eight friends.
There were three sets. Set one had one member: an unmarried male. Set two had six members: three couples married to each other, with no divorces. Set three had one member: a young lady who had been married six times, and divorced four times. (She was currently married, and had been widowed once.)
Eight people and four divorces meant that the divorce rate at that table was FIFTY PERCENT. When one one young lady got up and went to the kitchen for a coke, the divorce rate at the table was ZERO. When she returned, drink in hand, the divorce rate rose to FIFTY PERCENT.
My conclusion: Coke has been a disaster for the divorce rate!
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
