What is Statisfied?

Statisfied takes a close look at how our lives are transformed by statistics and other data. It’s a weekly newsletter for all audiences.

Statistics, as we know it, is a relatively new discipline. It deserves part of the credit for astonishing progress in science, technology, health care, education, business, and social policy.

Even if you don't know how statistics contributes to those fields, you can't escape the numbers. As I drafted this introduction, in the spring of 2021, President Biden's approval rating had just dipped to 37 percent, Steph Curry finished the NBA season averaging 32 points per game, a new study reported that eating 2 cans of sardines per day lowers the risk of Type II diabetes, and a 40 percent chance of rain was predicted for my city three days in a row. Of course what we were talking about most back then was the pandemic. We parsed vaccine effectiveness statistics, we argued about mortality rates, and so on.

The paragraph you just read would've been inconceivable prior to the 20th century. Not just because things like approval ratings and professional basketball and COVID-19 didn't exist yet, but because we didn't have (or elect to use) statistical procedures that generate such precise numbers.

Nowadays, with the help of freakishly powerful computers, researchers routinely use these procedures, and the public is flooded with statistical data. Journalists, politicians, advertisers, doctors, sportscasters, and random bloggers have all got numbers to share. We're accustomed now, for the first time in history, to hearing statistics used as a kind of evidence and a means of persuasion. We're accustomed to looking at surveys to find out who Americans are and how we feel. In a word, since the early 20th century, our society has become “statisfied”.

Unfortunately, when people talk statistics, they don't always get it right. Some of the misuse is unintentional, some is malicious. You might say that statistics are important because they can guide us and lead us astray. Hopefully, my newsletters will serve as a compass. 

Every Thursday, I take a close look at statistics and other data I've seen in the news or social media that week. I discuss the source of the data (usually a new study). I talk about what the data means and whether we can trust it. I reflect on how it applies to our everyday lives. And I show how it illustrates the transformative role of statistics in understanding ourselves and the world around us. Psychology, medicine, health, education, politics, technology, and the environment are among my interests, but I cover other topics as well. 

Why subscribe?

1. You're a learner. (A "newsletter" ought to convey "news".) 

2. You're a thinker. (I hope to not only share information but also stimulate reflection.)

3. You're busy. (You may not have time to figure out where data come from and whether you can trust it.)

4. The topics are important. (I focus on issues we care about deeply.)

5. You don't need statistical expertise. (I include parenthetical asides for those with statistical training, but this newsletter is for lay readers.)

6. You may not have access to the data. (Some of the studies I discuss are behind paywalls you may not be able to access.)

Who am I?

I’m a Professor Emeritus from Southern Methodist University. ("Emeritus" is Latin for "retired-and-loving-it").  

I received my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Cornell University in 1990. After graduation I joined the Department of Psychology at SMU, then switched to our School of Education in 2002 and remained there until my retirement in 2021. 

Although I’m not a statistician, I engaged with applied statistics throughout my career – publishing research, conducting program evaluations, teaching graduate stats and research methods, and chairing SMU's Institutional Review Board. Along with this newsletter, I'm developing a website and writing a book on how statistics continues to transform American society.

I’m excited to share this newsletter with you each Thursday. Feel to e-mail me feedback or questions (kspringe@smu.edu), and, of course, to share a link to the newsletter with friends!

So…

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Studies and stats in the news: What can we trust, what can we learn, why should we care?

People

I'm a Professor Emeritus with a background in psychology and education. Currently, I'm writing a book on how statistics is transforming 21st century America.