This edition of Fun With Statistics tells us a thing or two about relational attributes. Let’s get right to it, with the following graphical analysis that is apparently making the rounds on Capitol Hill.
Statistics never lie, right? Where’s a good pirate, or a few thousand, when you need them?
The lesson should be obvious: make sure the two attributes you are trying to correlate are actually related. A nice trend does not a trend make.
Hat tip to Donald Luskin at the Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid blog.
Matthew Zito says
Just in the interests of full disclosure, that graph is from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:
http://www.venganza.org/
Brilliant satire originally made to combat the kansas school board teaching creationism in the school system there.