President Ahmadinejad Speaks, at Columbia University and at the United Nations Options

[The Fanatic]

still though again with the "we polled 500 people, so that means all of America".

It's called statistics...

You can't realistically poll every individual in the United States who is between the ages of 18-24. It would be impractical and would cost a fortune.

But I feel like we have had this conversation many times before, so i'll leave it at that.

[impala454]

Yes I have heard of this "statistics" you speak of. It's simply my opinion that a poll of 500 people doesn't necessarily reflect a population of 300 million. Obviously it's not reasonable to poll a large enough number to get an accurate idea, so why bother?

[The Fanatic]

Yes I have heard of this "statistics" you speak of. It's simply my opinion that a poll of 500 people doesn't necessarily reflect a population of 300 million. Obviously it's not reasonable to poll a large enough number to get an accurate idea, so why bother?

Yeah, well you are in the minority of people who do not believe in statistics. I am not going to argue the finer points of statistics because I believe it will be pointless. That's OK I guess...

[impala454]

Yeah, well you are in the minority of people who do not believe in statistics.

This is not true though, please don't put words in my mouth. I simply don't believe blanket representations of our country's population based on a 500 person poll is very accurate. Do you?

[jonathan83]

from front page of www.foxnews.com

[Melanie]

I learned something new... Iran does not have gays. Just a population of very angry, single men and women.

[Billy]

Billy, comparing the big bang theory to the holocaust is preposterous. Definitely an apples and oranges thing. We have never observed the big bang.

I am not going to make a more in-depth rebuttal, but have you read up on the Big Bang before you made this claim? There is quite a bit of observation. I will let the wikipedia entry speak for me. After reading this entry, if you are still convinced that comparing a cosmological observation that is constantly denied by religious followers to an observed historic event that is constantly denied by political opponents is analagous to comparing apples and oranges, I doubt any internet debate will change your mind; nor mine.

I apologize for the tangent.

[THECHICKEN]

I am not going to make a more in-depth rebuttal, but have you read up on the Big Bang before you made this claim? There is quite a bit of observation. I will let the wikipedia entry speak for me. After reading this entry, if you are still convinced that comparing a cosmological observation that is constantly denied by religious followers to an observed historic event that is constantly denied by political opponents is analagous to comparing apples and oranges, I doubt any internet debate will change your mind; nor mine.

I apologize for the tangent.

Pretty sure most agree you are comparing apples to oranges (scientific theory to historical fact)


But nothing anyone says will change your mind so alas, what is the point.

[Billy]

Pretty sure most agree you are comparing apples to oranges (scientific theory observation to historical fact)
But nothing anyone says will change your mind so alas, what is the point.

Then most are wrong.

[The Fanatic]

This is not true though, please don't put words in my mouth. I simply don't believe blanket representations of our country's population based on a 500 person poll is very accurate. Do you?

Yes, as long as the sample was completely random

And you obviously don't believe in statistics since using representative samples is part of that discipline.

[THECHICKEN]

Then most are wrong.

"im not crazy, everyone else is"

[Spectatrix]

Yes I have heard of this "statistics" you speak of. It's simply my opinion that a poll of 500 people doesn't necessarily reflect a population of 300 million. Obviously it's not reasonable to poll a large enough number to get an accurate idea, so why bother?

It comes down to proper sampling technique, Impala. If subjects are chosen at random, the sample should be representative of the population, within a certainty of a few percentage points. There is a large amount of research devoted to proper sampling technique, but a lot of national surveys are conducted over the telephone, with numbers chosen randomly by a program.

That having been said, it's certainly possible for a sample to not closely represent the population, even if traditional sampling theory is used. That's why statistics are more likely to be trusted if a similar range of numbers has been discovered though multiple, independently-conducted surveys.

[Billy]

"im not crazy, everyone else is"

Witty quotes won't make you any more educated on the topic.

If you would like to know more about the Big Bang, I would recommend talking to Dr. Anderson or take his Nuclear Engineering course (you're still at Tech right?). Honestly, he has more credibility than anyone on this message board. So if it's between some law student or a pot heat claiming the Big Bang is just theory and him saying it isn't, I think I'm going to believe him. But he must be crazy since Seth knows everything about everything.

[GOB]

my cousin beth goes to columbia, she posted some pictures on facebook:

people gathering to watch the speech outside


hippies not working


more hippies not working


spot the secret service and win $5


spot the nypd and win $10


probably written by some hippie/immigrant

[The Fanatic]

HAHAHA

He misspelled Bin Laden!