pudge's Journal: Stupid Statistics

So there's this study which found a correlation between higher IQ and vegetarianism.

But most likely, this has nothing to do with vegetarianism itself, but with the fact that vegetarianism is a valid and non-normal pursuit.

If you have a higher IQ, you are more likely to question normality, what society and your parents and so on are telling you. You are therefore more likely to carefully examine other options. You are therefore more likely to choose other options.

So, smarter people in a predominantly Christian culture are more likely to be non-Christians. In a predominantly atheist culture, more likely to be religious. In a predominantly (little-d!) democratic culture, more likely to be socialists or anarchists or unabombers. In a predominantly omnivorous culture, more likely to be vegetarian. If we had a predominantly vegetarian culture, surely people with higher IQs would be more likely to be omnivorous.

Nothing to see here, move along.

More likely...

[BWJones]

I would suggest a more likely causative issue here is that vegetarians often (at least in Western cultures) have the luxury of being vegetarians. Given that they enjoy a higher economic standing, they are more likely to attend better schools and have more access to educational resources. This is the dangerous thing about statistics, right? After all, being a vegetarian does not predispose you to being smarter or having higher economic status. Rather it would be an outcome of having higher socio-economic status and IQs correlate quite nicely with those stats.

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[johndiii]

The understanding of statistics among the general population seems weak, particularly in terms of what statistical results imply about correlation and causation. Based on my personal impression, this is true even in more educated segments of the population.

When I was a sophomore or junior in high school, my math teacher had us read How to Lie With Statistics [amazon.com]. It should be mandatory. One things that I see constantly on television (or at least I did when I watched much of it) would be some bar graph that

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[TechnoLust]

I just had this discusssion with someone the other day, and we decided that statistics (especially based on a "random" sampling) are pretty worthless. And then add to that the fact that most people will try to "spin" the stats so that it looks like their belief is the correct one. I saw a blurb the other day that said, "16% of Americans say the have 'a great deal of faith' in the Democratic foreign policy. " The way the context surrounding it was worded, it sounded like Americans had lost faith in the Re

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[pudge]

That's probably a factor too, yes. My point was not that my reason is The reason, but only that I don't think that high IQ is a significant direct cause of vegetarianism, and more importantly, that the statistics here do not show any such causation.

Another example: I don't drink alcohol. And it is not at all for "religious" reasons, nor because I have a relatively high IQ. Rather, I am a bit of a control freak. People with high IQs tend more to be control freaks, and such people are less likely to want

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[BWJones]

....more importantly, that the statistics here do not show any such causation.

Absolutely.

I don't drink alcohol. And it is not at all for "religious" reasons, nor because I have a relatively high IQ. Rather, I am a bit of a control freak. People with high IQs tend more to be control freaks, and such people are less likely to want to give up control through recreational intoxication, so there may be a correlation with high IQ, but again, it's not the actual cause.

I actually do drink alcohol, but it is self li

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[Kymermosst]

Honestly, I love to get completely trashed every now and then (1-2 times per year). The trick is to be in a controlled situation. I'd never do it at a bar or at an unknown party. But among friends, we can let loose and have a good time.

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[pudge]

I have no desire of any kind to do that myself. It has no appeal to me.

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[FroMan]

Oh come on, not even at the rowdy Young Republicans meetings in college? Get up on the table and read Ayn Rand and Adam Smith. Oh, those were the times. Getting all sloshed and running around without my tie on around campus. Then doing really silly stuff like even unbuttoning the top button. I remember one time I totally cut loose and even climbed on top of the hill on campus and read sermon on the mount.

Eh, I guess I am with you. I know my temper and even loosening the reigns concerns me.

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[pudge]

Heh. :-)

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[Kymermosst]

Ah, well, that's too bad.

I did plenty of drinking when I was a member of the College Republicans. Get drunk, go counter-protest the hippies at the courthouse.

After I quit the C.R.s because of general idiocy and started working for the local conservative / libertarian magazine, the only way we could produce any content for an issue was to get trashed.

And oh, our booze guides. We proudly displayed our letters from the state liquor commission telling us about how if we continue to publish pricing guides we'd

Further reading

[johndiii]

I'm not sure if you've read Freakonomics [amazon.com] or not, but it has some interesting examples of odd causal relationships. I thought that his analysis of why drug dealers tend to live with their mothers was quite interesting.