| Is this the worst government statistic ever created? - Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:13:01 +0000 |
| I forgot to post this column up last year. It’s a fun one: the Department for Communities and Local Government have produced a truly farcical piece of evidence, and promoted it very hard, claiming it as good stats. I noticed the column was missing today, because Private Eye have published on the same report in [...] |
|
| Is there statistical evidence of fraud in the Russian election data? - Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:14:56 +0000 |
| James Ball sent me the data for the Russian election vote counts this morning and asked me to test whether it deviates from Benford’s law, a test that can give a hint at whether numbers are the product of fraud. Posted below is my analysis, and also a check for last digit preference, which is [...] |
|
| The golden arse beam method. - Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:06:41 +0000 |
| Ben Goldacre, The Guardian, Saturday 9 July 2011 Since I was a teenager, whenever I have a pivotal life event coming – an exam, or an interview – I perform a ritual. I sit cross-legged on the floor, and I imagine an enormous golden beam of energy coming out of my arse. I picture this anal [...] |
|