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This post triggers one of my major statistics peeves: A rank order list without variance is meaningless. The differences between the categories are very small.
by bk 17y ago
This post triggers one of my major statistics peeves:
A rank order list without variance is meaningless. The differences between the categories are very small. They are most likely not statistically significant.
- stevoski 17y agoNot only is there no variance. If we assume that the data is statistically significant (a bad assumption!), the difference between business owner (72.5%) and professional (71.5%) is very small. An alternative reading is that professionals are almost as likely to be happy as business owners.
- a-priori 17y agoIt also suffers from survivor bias.
- randallsquared 17y agoAs someone whose business did not survive, I can't agree more. :)
- stingraycharles 17y agoFurthermore, it seems to imply that being a business owner makes you happy. It could just as well be that people who often take control of their lives and actively pursue what makes them happy, which perhaps has a huge influence on their natural happiness, are more likely to become business owners.
- GiraffeNecktie 17y agoMy experience is that business owners (of necessity when dealing with lenders, customers and their own doubts and fears) have trained themselves to tell white lies. They'll say to everyone "Yeah things are going great, business is booming, I couldn't be happier!" when actually they are totally stressed out.