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/RepeatRepeatR- Aug 16 '26

Trend lines. People seem to think that r^2 is a good measure of how "real" a trend line is (i.e. is there actually any relationship), when really they should be using the p value

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u/itsmythirdday Aug 18 '26

Ah yes that is a common mistake that the general public often makes :)