The "Feedback" column of New Scientist (Oct. 4, page 80) reported the following conversation with somebody at Britain's Office of National Statistics (ONS) while in search of a definition of "statistical significance."
Feedback: "Could you tell me the definition of statistical significance?"
ONS: "What do you mean?"
Feedback: "You know, if you sample a population, when does that sample become statistically significant? When is it taken into account?"
ONS: "Well, we sample the population every other year, we collect the data, print it... and then it becomes significant."
Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of the author.
Copyright © 1997 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved. Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.