Re: Statisically Insignificant


Richard Ulrich wrote:
On 27 Mar 2006 19:55:07 -0800, franklin.sr@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi there..

First off the bat, I'm not particularly math literate so bare with me
here.


I was arguing a point about lotto with a friend. I said that if the
odds were 14,000,000:1 the best thing to do is just buy 2 games ($2) as
even if you buy 20 games ($20) there increased chance of winning is
statisically insignificant.

After I wondered about this expression 'statisically insignificant' and
would like to know if there is a point that something becomes
'insignificant' or whether this is just some imperical expression used
to denote 'no difference'

Another post has explained about the use of
'statistical significance' in science.

For your friend, the expression was totally misused, or
used ironically.

Your chance of winning is "insignificant," that is, tiny and
almost nil, with 2 or with 20. He stuck in the word
'statistically' because it is a fixed phrase, in other places,
and this mis-application introduced humor.

Or, that would be true if he were a scientist. If he has been
around scientists, perhaps, he has heard other people use it
this way, and he mistakenly thinks the phrase has meaning.

Statistically, if you buy tickets with different numbers, your
chances of winning *do* increase proportionately.

--
Rich Ulrich, wpilib@xxxxxxxx
http://www.pitt.edu/~wpilib/index.html

actually, this kind of points out what I consider to be a confusion in
teaching between "statistics" and "probability". to me, statistics is
when you have a known sample and are trying to estimate the properties
of the larger population. Probability is when you have the known
population, and are trying to estimate the properties of a sample. The
lottery falls into the latter category. Seems to me.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Statisically Insignificant
    ... I was arguing a point about lotto with a friend. ... even if you buy 20 games there increased chance of winning is ... After I wondered about this expression 'statisically insignificant' and ...
    (sci.stat.math)
  • Statisically Insignificant
    ... I was arguing a point about lotto with a friend. ... odds were 14,000,000:1 the best thing to do is just buy 2 games as ... After I wondered about this expression 'statisically insignificant' and ... 'insignificant' or whether this is just some imperical expression used ...
    (sci.stat.math)