Statistics Police?!
From Gelman’s blog: [link to ttp://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2009/06/statistics_poli.html no longer works]
U.K. Sheriff Cites Officials for Serious Statistical Violations
I don’t know if we need an “office” of information assurance in the government sector, but it would be nice to have some penalty on the books for folks who abuse basic common sense statistical principles. Of course, the *real* answer lies in education and disclosure, but history would suggest that the Enlightenment Bus is usually late and tends to make many unscheduled detours.
Oh, and just so you can share in my mental pain, here’s the song that will probably be stuck in my head for the rest of the day now:
Well I, for one, welcome our new statistically-accurate overlords.