ACORN

[--Pete]

Hi,

I am suspect of something trashing the right from a bastion of the left. This has what to do with the education system?

Let me give you a more reasoned reply:

The subject you are suspicious of is a statistical analysis. You are suspicious of it because it was done by an organization that you think supports the left. Now, this either means that you think that mathematics is different when done by those on the left than it is when done by those on the right (reminiscent of Hitler disliking quantum mechanics because it was 'Jew physics') or you think that the analysis was somehow tainted by those who did it.

I suspect that you understand that mathematics is apolitical and that any two people using the same methods on the same data would get the same numerical results. Thus, giving you the benefit of the doubt, your point is that the study was tainted. So, either you think the analysis itself was flawed, but you don't know enough to see why or how it is flawed, or you think the interpretation is flawed, but again you don't know how. Either of these conditions are ignorance (i.e., lack of knowledge) (and to take 'ignorance' to be an offensive term is ignorant).

Now, if the results of the study are invalid, then either the analysis or the conclusions were wrong. The analysis could be easily reproduced by anyone who reads the report, and if there is a discrepancy, then accusations of fraud would be appropriate. Only in the interpretation of the results is there room for opinion. One side could claim that a certain level is statistically significant, the other could claim not. But, again, to evaluate the reasonableness of these claims requires understanding of statistical processes.

So, the failure of the educational system is twofold. First, it failed to develop your reasoning process to the point that you would recognize that doubting these results because of their source is illogical. Second, it failed to require that you learn enough about statistics to evaluate for yourself the credibility of these results.

A much more valid point is that the link to the report cited in the article does not lead to the report, and that I (at least) could not find that report after searching that site. And that, indeed, is a major problem with the argument.

As an aside: if you want to get me a new keyboard for this old laptop, I'm sure that the number of typos caused by keystrokes not registering would decrease dramatically. However, I've learned to live with it, so deal.

--Pete