> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Julia Thompson > Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:11 PM > To: Killer Bs Discussion > Subject: Re: Canadians come to the US for surgery > > > > On Mon, 9 Jul 2007, Dan Minette wrote: > > > An interesting story that runs counter to the theme of Sicko. > > Relatives of a family who are living with us this summer were in the > > Woodlands because two daughter needed surgery that they could not get in > > Canada. I realize that individual stories do not prove a point, but > > that's sorta my point. Indeed, the available sample size for folks I > > would be aware of in this manner (few people tell us when they are > > visiting other folks...so it would otherwise have to be among Canadians > > we know) is far far smaller than that available to Moore. > > > > Dan M. > > Data is not the plural of anecdote. :)
Strictly speaking, statistics from a small sample size have large error bars. Even if they involve stories, they can still be considered a limited data set. In Moore's case, the overall population sample size is very large, while the sample he shows (a biased sample at that) is small. So, his error bars are extremely large....to the point of being meaningless. In my case, the error bars are smaller, since the sample population is smaller. Still, I'll be more than happy to agree that limited samples have limited validity....which was my point from the beginning. :-) > So, if all you have are anecdotes, that doesn't really say anything. > Statistics with a large sample size, that's the way to do it. > > How much statistical data does Moore use? How much is anecdotal? (I > don't get out to see movies so often, and am not likely to see this one in > the theater....) >From what I've seen of his work, he tends to tell stories in his documentaries. Statistical analysis rarely makes for a gripping film. :-) In addition, from what I've seen, he tends to pick data that fits his story. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
