10 July 2007

Get Rid of Lead Paint and Get Rid of Crime

Ummm . . . Sorry, not buying it. Lead paint was not the cause of crime and its removal is not the cause of falling crime levels.

Crimes been around for a while folks. I can believe all sorts of social causes for fluctuations in the crime rates over time, but to me this just screams correlation without causation.

And, before everybody screams at me, yes, I am a simpleton when it comes to statistics. However, I do agree with what Samuel Clemens said about them. Every time I see something like this, I wonder what other changes have also tracked with the item the statistician wants to show effected. We know that global warming has occurred. Perhaps minute changes in temperature effect criminal activity. How about asbestos removal? Could it track with the drop in criminal activity?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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