After some random internet thread where guy claims I misused statistics (even though the computation involved no advanced statistical methods whatsoever) I started thinking what good is statistics anyway. I mean of course statistics has its use, but when's the last time you have seen a convincing argument based on standard deviation or chi-square or any of that stuff? If on average my Internet power level is 10 and yours is 3 does it really matter there's some weird statistics formula that may prove it otherwise? If I tossed a coin 20 times and it came up heads 16 times, do you really need statistics to suggest the coin is probably rigged?
Even in pretty technical papers, usually I notice people just use simple methods if that method supports whatever they're trying to claim. For example the global warming guys say temperature will raise on average X +- Y degrees in the next Z years. Assuming X is big enough, Y is small enough, and Z is soon enough, that certainly can tell me 'bad things are going to happen soon'. If my algorithm on average is 3 times as fast as yours I probably don't need anything else to show that I am better than you. Sure everything is not so clear cut so you need fancier methods when the differences are small, but I'm always of the opinion that if simple methods (assuming it doesn't omit glaring issues) shows what you need to show then you don't need advanced methods.
Even in pretty technical papers, usually I notice people just use simple methods if that method supports whatever they're trying to claim. For example the global warming guys say temperature will raise on average X +- Y degrees in the next Z years. Assuming X is big enough, Y is small enough, and Z is soon enough, that certainly can tell me 'bad things are going to happen soon'. If my algorithm on average is 3 times as fast as yours I probably don't need anything else to show that I am better than you. Sure everything is not so clear cut so you need fancier methods when the differences are small, but I'm always of the opinion that if simple methods (assuming it doesn't omit glaring issues) shows what you need to show then you don't need advanced methods.
