> According to an email from Facebook, the survey found that those who shared their New Year's resolution on Facebook were 36 percent more likely to stick to it.<
When I read this, I immediately started thinking about the nature of the comparison group, and the likelihood that the numbers given were simply made up out of whole cloth. I "trust" facebook to do whatever they believe to be profitable, without regard for any form of ethics. And very few advertisements even try to give usefully accurate information.
Obviously this is apropos of nothing, and I don't even do new year's resolutions. But I couldn't resist commenting on the ways that some things that look like supporting evidence may work in reverse, given a sufficiently bad reputation.
[ETA: congrats on your progress with your resolutions.]
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dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2023-01-13 06:54 pm (UTC)When I read this, I immediately started thinking about the nature of the comparison group, and the likelihood that the numbers given were simply made up out of whole cloth. I "trust" facebook to do whatever they believe to be profitable, without regard for any form of ethics. And very few advertisements even try to give usefully accurate information.
Obviously this is apropos of nothing, and I don't even do new year's resolutions. But I couldn't resist commenting on the ways that some things that look like supporting evidence may work in reverse, given a sufficiently bad reputation.
[ETA: congrats on your progress with your resolutions.]