Statistics and Guns From Behind Enemy Lines [Content Contest]

By Dan Zimmerman

By Douglas Valerio

As Aaron Levenshtein noted, “Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is interesting. But what they hide is vital.” As a mechanical engineer by degree, I have taken my fair share of math courses. Statistics are easy to calculate, harder to research, and frequently difficult to interpret. With guns as prevalent in our society as they are, there is plenty of data on many aspects relating to them, some more reliable than others. While I may not be a statistician or a college professor in the field, the basic concepts seem to escape the normal person to a point that is almost painful to witness. We can break this into 3 sections, correlation, causation, and how correlation does not equal causation . . .

Correlation is defined as a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things. All that’s required for something to correlate is that they relate to each other. One must move in relation to the other, whether it’s up, down, left, or right. Take, for instance, the fact that ice cream sales increase in hotter months. This makes sense, seeing as the hotter weather makes people want a cold treat like ice cream. Per …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns