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African American (Dodgy Statistics #38)

The term African American is racist. It implies black Americans are less American than white Americans. There has been a lot of news in recent weeks on how black people are treated in America and in the UK. Whenever the news story is focussed in the US the term African American is used to denote a black person. I think this term is racist as it implies that black Americans are less American than…

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#african american #black people #dodgy statistics #white people

Middle class nudity (Dodgy Statistics #37)

Middle class nudity – When female models are topless in working class newspapers it is called pornography but in middle class newspapers it is called art. There was a campaign for many years to remove topless models from page 3 of The Sun newspaper, and similar publications. The reason given was that Page 3 was pornography and the models promoted a negative stereotype of women. The campaign was…

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#dodgy statistics #middle class nudity #sun page 3 #sunday times style

Halifax Top Cat (Dodgy Statistics #36)

Halifax Top Cat – Halifax have decided to choose a cartoon swindler as their mascot. Probably not the best choice given the recent history of banks. The current Halifax banking advert shows Top Cat applying for a mortgage. Top Cat is a famous cartoon swindler who runs countless get-rich-quick schemes whilst evading the police. Halifax is one of the banks owned by the Lloyds Banking Group. The…

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#dodgy statistics #halifax #halifax top cat #top cat

Myers-Briggs personality test (Dodgy Statistics #35)

The Myers-Briggs Personality test is silly. It says that the whole spectrum of personality traits can be easily captured in 16 simple categories. The Myers-Briggs personality test categorises people into one of 16 options. The 16 options are determined by four categories. You can either be extroverted or introverted, a pragmatist or a dreamer, logical or emotional, or planned or spontaneous. The…

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#dodgy statistics #myers briggs #myers briggs personality test

PMI survey (Dodgy Statistics #34)

The BBC reported that the PMI survey showed a dramatic drop in the economy. The survey only looks at the direction of activity and ignores the magnitude. In yesterday’s (22nd July) BBC News reported that Brexit had caused a dramatic drop in the UK economy, according to the PMI survey. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36864273 There was a large drop in the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) survey…

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#dodgy statistics #pmi survey #purchasing managers index

Pensions fairness (Dodgy Statistics #33)

Pensions fairness- Channel 4’s pensions rip-off programme ignores the fact that final salary schemes are ridiculously generous In Monday’s edition of Dispatches on Channel 4 a pensioner’s benefits had fallen into the Pensions Protection Fund. As a result his pension was half of what he had been promised by his company. For this reason Dispatches ran a segment on rip-off pensions. However if you…

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#channel 4 pensions #dodgy statistics #pensions #pensions dispatches #rip off pensions

Pokemon Go (Dodgy Statistics #32)

Pokemon Go is an excellent idea that opens up a new world of gaming. Some people have taken it too far and need to get their priorities straight. Pokemon Go is a new idea based on augmented reality where players literally walk around the world capturing digitised creatures. It is an excellent way to hit back at the criticism that games are anti-social and keep children trapped in their bedrooms.…

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#Pokemon Go

French filter (Dodgy Statistics #31)

Putting a French filter on your Facebook page does not change anything. If you care and want to make a difference then do something meaningful. France has been the victim of some hideous terrorist attacks over the past couple of years. A number of people have been inspired to react to these events by placing a French filter on their Facebook page. This appears to be part of a worrying trend…

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#charlie hebdo #facebook #france terror attacks #french filter #french terror attacks #nice terror attacks #paris bombing

Sun exposure (Dodgy Statistics #30)

Two scientists disagreeing on the level of sun exposure is not a balanced argument as it ignores the weight of evidence A recent BBC Two documentary, “Trust Me I’m A Doctor”, discusses how much sun exposure is appropriate for a person. Michael Mosley interviews one scientist who says we should severely limit our exposure to the sun. He then interviews another who says that we should get as much…

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#bbc #dodgy statistics #michael mosley #skin cancer #sun exposure

Grace Victory documentary (Otherstuff#2)

Hello I just wanted to recommend a documentary that is currently on BBC Three on iPlayer. The documentary is presented by a young blogger, Grace Victory, who considers herself as the internet’s big sister and gives advice on self-esteem for younger viewers. The documentary coincidentally covers some of the same topics as my blog (e.g. superfoods are really expensive and gluten-free should only be…

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#bbc three documentary #grace victory #youtube

Online estate agents (Dodgy Statistics #29)

Online estate agents are a big step in the right direction but be careful with the fine print. Hello Online estate agents have started to make inroads into the housing market. This article looks at a couple of the bigger names and advises the reader to take care before deciding. Traditional estate agents A traditional estate agent will sell your house for a percentage of the proceeds. Typically…

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#dodgy statistics #house simple #online estate agents #purple bricks

DIY investing (Dodgy Statistics #28)

DIY investing is an excellent intellectual and emotional challenge but will not make you rich unless you already are rich I have written a guest post for Moneystepper on the above topic and it can be found in: http://moneystepper.com/investing/diy-investing-wont-make-rich/ David McCabe

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#diy investing #do it yourself investing #dodgy statistics

Asian mathematicians (Dodgy Statistics #27)

Asian mathematicians are no better than British mathematicians. The PISA ratings are flawed and contradict all other sources. Hello Asian mathematicians are lauded for their brilliance. Today’s BBC News even informed us that British schools are adopting Asian methods of teaching maths. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36772954 The Big Short This idea is even part of popular culture. In the…

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#asian mathematicians #dodgy statistics #pisa ratings

Metabolic Age (Dodgy Statistics #26)

Metabolic Age is pseudo-science. It just says that you should be a certain weight based on your gender, age, height and weight. A few weeks ago I took a health check and was deeply impressed to find that my metabolic age was five years below my actual (or “chronological”) age. Am I a health-conscious fitness freak? Of course not. Metabolic Age refers to a number calculated by comparing your…

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#dodgy statistics #metabolic age #tanita

Racist police (Dodgy Statistics #25)

The media are full of stories of racist police in the United States. There is no evidence that black men are targeted by police any more than any other race. Hello The headline that has dominated the news this week is that of racist police killing two black men and in retaliation a black man killing police. The first case was that of Alton Sterling in Louisiana. The police were responding to a…

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#dodgy statistics #racism #racist police #us racism

35 business women (Dodgy Statistics #23)

35 business women under 35 is an insult to women. These profiles need to be scrapped. Hello Today’s (Sunday 3rd July) business supplement of the Sunday Times contained a profile of the “35 business women under 35” in the UK. There are various variants on this theme but all of them specify females and all of them are a multiple of 5. On the surface the profile feels like a good idea. It seems to…

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#35 business women #35 women under 35 #dodgy statistics #gender equality

Body Mass Index (Dodgy Statistics #22)

Body Mass Index only looks at your height and weight and nothing else. There is no real evidence that being overweight is an issue. Hello The Body Mass Index (BMI) uses the height and weight of an individual to determine whether you are underweight or overweight. It is a widely used and reported measure on the health of an individual: https://www.weightwatchers.com/health/asm/calc_bmi.aspx…

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#bmi #body mass index #dodgy statistics #health

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