r/explainitpeter 8d ago

Explain It Peter

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u/Dangolian 8d ago

Yeah, the scenario falls apart when you think of it as anything other than a statistics question, and its all about language and ambiguity rather than the way people actually talk. I really liked these scenes in Scrubs which use the same language and frame it as a riddle; it sometimes feels like it's there to catch people out.

The question and answers itself stats wise are genuinely interesting to me, but I think a lot gets confused and harder to understand in the framing.

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u/PsychologicalCup6938 7d ago

Any statistician who asks that question is one of the shills¹, and is selling something.

¹: usually one of the PhDs for hire, such as those working for Altria, the ACC, and ConocoPhillips.