Bad Science/Interpretation

Bad science... lost in interpretation!

Scary medical statistics

Numbers are everywhere: lottery tickets, prices in the sales, channels on your telly….everywhere! But when numbers get muddled, we all get confused…especially when it happens in the media!

Fractions, percentages, ratios and a simple "not knowing what to do with the data" can lead to worrying conclusions, and the scariest of medical scares!

It’s easy to get scared if you don’t know the full story.

Being scientifically literate i.e. understanding the basic principles in science, allows you to judge whether the scientific data have been interpreted correctly and whether all you hear about in the media is true. What do you mean Brad and Jen aren’t together anymore?

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The following are a selection of resources for teachers and students.

Whiteboard

• Ben's Article: Risky Business
• Ben's Article: After Feeding
• Ben's Article: A Wee Dram
• Interactive Odds: Probability Game

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Activities

• Teacher's Notes
• Data Sheet
• Student's Worksheets
• Background Notes

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Further reading

There’s plenty out there on the internet about probabilities, statistics and medical health scare stories, but here are a few links we thought would be useful too:

• The Mathematics of Chance with Dr Simon Singh.
• The Mathagony Aunt
• Health research probabilities

The story of Sally Clark and cot deaths