alt Hacker NewsSure, but in a representative sample size this is largely irrelevant. The fraternity brothers and the Mormons cancel each other out, and regardless both are dwarfed by the large middle of the population that likely systematically and reliably under-reports their drinking by a few units.
The idea of outliers and systematic biases isn’t new to statistics, relative comparisons are still useful.
>Sure, but in a representative sample size this is largely irrelevant.
There is no way to know whether your sample size is representative. What amount of fraternity brothers and Mormons cancel each other out?
>and regardless both are dwarfed by the large middle of the population that likely systematically and reliably under-reports their drinking by a few units.
And? That does not prevent spurious correlations.