Path: ...!news.mixmin.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "X, formerly known as \"!Jones\"" Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns Subject: Re: Applying the Scientific Method... Date: Fri, 06 Sep 2024 21:05:09 -0500 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 32 Message-ID: References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 04:05:11 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="216be658d0643b37886f30dde9179ec6"; logging-data="1084790"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+/mJ+GDj59wmJYVGpc/WNf" Cancel-Lock: sha1:+vI3QZGb8p6YXYWqsfySwHl4cvE= X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.8/32.548 Bytes: 2401 If you have a medical emergency, stop reading, log off, and dial 911! >On 9/5/2024 10:01 AM, X, formerly known as "!Jones" wrote: >> >> It is as obvious as gravity that gun proliferation and gun violence >> tend to have a positive correlation. > >Fact, not opinion: In the USA, gun buying splurges do not have >a positive correlation with gun violence. Also, non-urban areas >where gun ownership is high do not have corresponding high gun >violence. Actually, simple correlation isn't a particularly compelling data point and tends to vary widely (meaning +- 0.2, which is significant) depending on the population; however, I know of no national data set (except John Lott's) in which it isn't positive. Now, is it possible to *find* a data set that isn't positive? I don't know, but I wouldn't wager you couldn't if you had long enough to look for it. In *general*, worldwide, it runs between 0.2 and 0.6 depending on *many* factors (e.g.: do self-inflicted wounds count as gun violence?) When you discuss correlation, always remember what a high correlation there is between a rooster's crowing and the sun subsequently rising. Can you tell us the meaning of "correlation" without resorting to Google? If you're interested in statistical methods, I recommend: https://www.pewresearch.org/about/follow-us/Methodological_research (quarterly) but I doubt you are.