#  One take on science in the media 

 





November 01, 2007

 

 

I often share the mixed feelings about media coverage of scientific papers that Amy [discussed in her post](http://www.iq.harvard.edu/blog/sss/archives/2007/10/the_statistics.shtml) yesterday on the statistics of race. Apparently we aren't the only ones; Mark Liberman at [Language Log](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005074.html) linked to yesterday's [Dilbert](http://www.dilbert.com) cartoon:

Language Log is one of my favorite blogs, and many of the posts there are relevant for those of us reporting our own statistical results and trying to promote better coverage in the media. Some of my favorites:

[Two Simple Numbers](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004736.html)  
[Thou Shalt Not Report Odds Ratios](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004767.html)  
[Hand-waving in the Washington Post](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004802.html)  
[IQ and birth order](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004646.html)  
[The "happiness gap" and the rhetoric of statistics](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004965.html)

I know that I've committed some of these sins myself; in fact, I think I need to go reinterpret some odds ratios...

Posted by [Mike Kellermann](http://www.iq.harvard.edu/blog/sss/archives/author/mike-kellermann/) at November 1, 2007 12:05 AM



 

 

 



 

 

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