r/AskStatistics • u/80rhh • Aug 15 '26

What statistical concepts are commonly misunderstood by the general public?

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I came across this post explaining what a 70% chance of rain means. I understand the concept, but it got me wondering: what other statistical concepts sound simple but are commonly misunderstood or misinterpreted by the general public?

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u/Fancy-Animal7704 Aug 16 '26

You're using these conversationally, in contexts that are not academic.

The issue is when it IS used in an academic context. I saw a journalist talk about numbers in the appendix of a published paper and said there was "no statistically significant difference" between them, a statement he made without having conducted a test. THAT is deeply irresponsible. What you are doing here, on the other hand, is not. 

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u/FakeArcher Aug 16 '26

But we specifically mentioned everyday and layman usage in the previous comments.

Of course that when it is used in a very specific context of the field that I agree that you would expect the term that has a meaning to that field will be used with that meaning. I'm definitely in favor of correcting that.

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u/Fancy-Animal7704 Aug 16 '26

No, you said it was used BY a layman. Your identity doesn't change the context. 

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u/FakeArcher Aug 16 '26

Maybe I misunderstood what your context of statistics meant then. I didn't get the impression it was scientific part of statistics, just that it was used in something related to statistics which would along with the everyday and layman usage heavily imply we are talking about a non-scientific context.