[Offtopic] Line fitting [was Re: Numpy outlier removal]
Steven D'Aprano
steve+comp.lang.python at pearwood.info
Wed Jan 9 02:50:45 EST 2013
On Wed, 09 Jan 2013 07:14:51 +1100, Chris Angelico wrote:
> Three types of lies.
Oh, surely more than that.
White lies.
Regular or garden variety lies.
Malicious lies.
Accidental or innocent lies.
FUD -- "fear, uncertainty, doubt".
Half-truths.
Lying by omission.
Exaggeration and understatement.
Propaganda.
Misinformation.
Disinformation.
Deceit by emphasis.
And manufactured doubt.
E.g. the decades long campaign by the tobacco companies to deny that
tobacco products caused cancer, when their own scientists were telling
them that they did. Having learnt how valuable falsehoods are, those same
manufacturers of doubt went on to sell their services to those who wanted
to deny that CFCs destroyed ozone, and that CO2 causes warming.
The old saw about "lies, damned lies and statistics" reminds me very much
of a quote from Homer Simpson:
"Pfff, facts, you can prove anything that's even remotely true with
facts!"
--
Steven
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