Statistical ignorance and popular perception of gun ownership and gun crime

[A.G.]

I don't post very often but I thought that this article is worth a read. It discusses how statistical ignorance results in misunderstanding the facts behind a lot of culture wars, including guns.
http://www.joshuakennon.com/lies-dam...es-statistics/

[GardoneVT]

I don't post very often but I thought that this article is worth a read. It discusses how statistical ignorance results in misunderstanding the facts behind a lot of culture wars, including guns.
http://www.joshuakennon.com/lies-dam...es-statistics/

Numbers don't lie, but people do. I took a class in marketing once, and the professor made a point about relying on statistics and how companies use even bad news to sell products. Say I make a handgun which is so unreliable 8 out of every 10 fail before 200 rounds according to third party testing. That's an 80% failure rate... or, if I hired a clever marketing rep, they'd say "80% of guns made survived testing, and 20% completed the regimen!!"

Then the asterisk at the bottom would cover the legal compliance info, but most folks will look at that slogan and say "hey, this must be good because it's tested right?" In a world without critical thinking, the power lies with whoever can bend the facts better.

[LittleLebowski]

Numbers don't lie, but people do. I took a class in marketing once, and the professor made a point about relying on statistics and how companies use even bad news to sell products. Say I make a handgun which is so unreliable 8 out of every 10 fail before 200 rounds according to third party testing. That's an 80% failure rate... or, if I hired a clever marketing rep, they'd say "80% of guns made survived testing, and 20% completed the regimen!!"

Then the asterisk at the bottom would cover the legal compliance info, but most folks will look at that slogan and say "hey, this must be good because it's tested right?" In a world without critical thinking, the power lies with whoever can bend the facts better.

http://pistol-training.com/archives/2600

[TGS]

I think the coolest marketing strategies I've ever heard explained was from the TV show Mad Men, when brain-storming how to market Lucky Strike cigarettes, and how you can capitalize on the tobacco being "toasted" even though everyone else's is also toasted: