I’m reminded of Bjorn Lomberg’s example of statistical misinterpretation. World per capita consumption of grain is falling. Bad news, right? People must be consuming less?
No. People in developed countries (essentially constant population) already have sufficient grain (little growth in consumption). People in LDCs (growing population with lower but growing consumption) are consuming more. And world average cosumption is falling all the while.
Nice article.
I’m reminded of Bjorn Lomberg’s example of statistical misinterpretation. World per capita consumption of grain is falling. Bad news, right? People must be consuming less?
No. People in developed countries (essentially constant population) already have sufficient grain (little growth in consumption). People in LDCs (growing population with lower but growing consumption) are consuming more. And world average cosumption is falling all the while.
Brings to mind Mark Twain’s classic observation that there are “lies, damn lies, and statistics.”