Syphilis (Or Was It Facebook?) Blamed For People Not Understanding That Correlation Does Not Mean Causation
from the not-without-a-chi-square! dept
I really really really wasn't going to write this post, but so many people kept submitting it, I figured it needed to be done. The Telegraph has some ridiculous story claiming, without any actual evidence, that Facebook is "linked to the rise in syphilis." Quite a claim. The evidence? Oh, that's not included. There's just some public health guy claiming that there's evidence -- without presenting any. About the only thing in the article is that (a) more people in this particular area of the UK seem to be reporting that they got syphilis (b) people in that area are also (marginally) more likely than in other areas to use social networking (c) at least some of the people who got syphilis mentioned that they have met sexual partners via Facebook.So, yes, you have a bit of weak correlation combined with self-selected anecdotal bias. And that proves what? Uh, absolutely nothing. So, please, for the sake of the sanity of statisticians everywhere, please learn to practice safe statistics, where before you claim something is linked to something else, you actually use "protection" in the form of some real data.
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Filed Under: causation, correlation, social networks, statistics, syphilis, uk
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statiticsyphilis
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Internet condom
Is there an AV program for this?
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Re: Internet condom
(sorry, i had to :) )
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Re: Internet condom
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I like Facebook's response
"Facebook is no more responsible for STD transmission than newspapers responsible for bad vision."
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Re: I like Facebook's response
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Re: Re: I like Facebook\'s response
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Re: Re: Re: I like Facebook\\\'s response
It turns out that 100% of the people born in the 18th century are dead. Ergo, if you don't want to die, don't get born in the 18th century.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I like Facebook\\\\\\\'s response
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_people#Ten_oldest_people_currently_living
1895, for fucks sake!
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I like Facebook\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s response
Math fail. The 18th century was from 1701-1800.
If you don't believe me, what century was year 1-100?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I like Facebook\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s response
Stop being a smart ass.
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Re: I like Facebook\'s response
You'd still be stupid regardless.
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Heh.
"Real Data is Your Best Protection"
That should be your next t-shirt.
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Re: Heh.
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Global Warming
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Re: Global Warming
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Re: Global Warming
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/PiratesVsTemp_English.jpg/300p x-PiratesVsTemp_English.jpg
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Re:
My teacher gave me 100% on it too. :)
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Not the first time, not the last time
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Ouch...
Ok, I know it's really all the stupid people doing stupid things that causes pain... but in true litigious form, we have to blame those with the deepest pockets regardless of fault... right?
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Re:
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since reading newspapers in poor light
Facebook is admitting they are guilty. Quick get me my lawyer, and a computer that does not practice safe sex.
according to the linked article:
"
"There has been a fourfold increase in the number of syphilis cases detected with more young women being affected.
"I don't get the names of people affected, just figures, and I saw that several of the people had met sexual partners through these sites.
"Social networking sites are making it easier for people to meet up for casual sex."
In Teesside there were 30 recorded cases of syphilis last year, but the true figures are expected to be much higher.
Research has shown that young people in Sunderland, Durham and Teesside were 25 per cent more likely to log onto social networking sites than those in the rest of Britain.
A Facebook spokesman said: “The assertion that Facebook is responsible for the transmission of syphilis is ridiculous. Facebook is no more responsible for STD transmission than newspapers responsible for bad vision. Today’s reports exaggerate the comments made by the professor, and ignore the difference between correlation and causation.
"As Facebook’s more than 400 million users know, our website is not a place to meet people for casual sex – it’s a place for friends, family and co-workers to connect and share.”
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Re: since reading newspapers in poor light
cue horrified responses in...
5...
4...
3...
2...
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Re: Re: since reading newspapers in poor light
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Bad Science
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Re: Bad Science
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Re: Re: Bad Science
best comment yet!
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cum se cum sa
If people are finding that the risky ways they meet sexual partners are leading them to acquire too much venereal disease, then they might look for alternative methods to better screen potential partners.
An online system that would all people to vet potential partners by reading about them, and validating them through their community of friends might be useful.
Therefore, people who suffer from venereal disease might tend to populate such online social networks. Their use of these networks might contribute to the critical mass necessary to make the networks sustainable.
---
So, stamp out venereal disease and Facebook might just go away!
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fish and chips must be wrapped in *something*
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Re: fish and chips must be wrapped in *something*
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Then we can sue Norton/Mcafee etc as they did not protect you from getting it.
Also sue Google, in Italy you could get away with it
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Re:
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all such a study really shows -
"Tortured statistics... will confess to anything."
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I'm making this statement based off the fact that everyone of my friends that every time I go over to a friend's house, that has a Facebook account, they have Dial soap in their bathroom.
Wow, what a joke..
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Someone just now needs to write an app providing an easy way to tell your "friends" you tested positive, and leaderboards for Most Infected.
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Re:
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Correlation: The most abused statistic
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