a cautionary tale of data gone wrong

Real data Nothing altered Just a change of perspective

Number of Pirates on the "High Seas"

50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000

20,000
15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

Average Global Temperature C

15.8 15.6 15.4 15.2 15 14.8 14.6 14.4 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

Piracy reduces Global Warming

16 15.8

Average Global Temperature ('C)

15.6 15.4 15.2 15 14.8 14.6 14.4

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

Number of pirates active

Conclusion:
Increase piracy to reduce global warming

Litres of 100% Alcohol Per Capita (Adult)

9
8 7 6 5 4 3 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900

Number of Clergy (all demonination) per 1,000 population

1.400 1.200 1.000 0.800 0.600

0.400 0.200
0.000 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900

Increasing the Clergy increases alcohol consumption

9.0

8.0 Alcohol Consumption (litres)

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

1.200

1.400

Number of Clergy per 1,000 population

Conclusion:
Decrease the number of vicars to reduce alcohol consumption

Sound Familiar?
Exams are getting easier Teachers are not preparing young people for the real world You can pass GCSE XYZ with 23% Wales lags behind England England lags behind Poland Children on FSM under perform Boys under perform compared to Girls

Data: (Mean Points Score) Boys: Girls: 22.2 28.2

Conclusion: Boys underperform

Really?

Conclusions: Correlation is not causation

If you go looking for a link between data, dont be surprised if you find it Use proper statistics to make real decisions