Supplemets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supplemets - Essay Example One of the most common misuses of statistics found regularly is that of an implied connection. Typically, this is found in advertisements for various kinds weight loss, hair regeneration etc products. The manner in which the error is made is that a success story of some person is cited, i.e., say Joe Smith lost 20 pounds of weight in 2 weeks by using product X. The claim is that or rather the implication is that if the product worked for Joe, it should for every consumer. Obviously, this is not true. If the statement in the small print of the results not being typical accompanies a weight loss product advertisement, this implies that the advertised effect is not typical. That is, whatever remarkable weight loss story is portrayed as proof of the effectiveness of the product, is not the expected impact of the product on the average person based on statistical tests. The kind of misuse this statement reflects is one of implied connection. An advertisement that demonstrates some immediate weight loss as a result of using the product refers to a situation where the product had such an impact on one individual. But, the advertisement implies that whoever uses the product will benefit in a similar fashion. However, the small print refers to the truth obtained through statistical sampling. It was found that the extent to which the product had an effect was not as spectacular on most people tested. Thus, for the typical, or average person, the product had little or no effect compared to what was being depicted in the advertisement. This is only perceivable to the person who is careful enough to take note of the footnote. Thus, this product is unlikely to have any significant impact on an average person. Because it had a spectacular effect on one individual as advertised, does not mean that it will have similar effects on all people. Further the small print implies that that effect observed on most people was actually