ARE STATISTICIANS LIARS ?
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]
SIR,—Miss Margaret Knight supplies in Mr. R. M. Moore's table of comparative death-rate of 13 age-groups a striking illustration of the " causal-relation-the-wrong-way-round type of fallacy," provided by figures. The table, whatever it is intended to prove, is valueless unless supported by data as to environmental situation, habits of life, anthropological characteristics, &c., &c., of each of the 628,00o individuals concerned, and no such data is available.
The Medical Research Council report that to reach scientific conclusions with reference to the relationship between the con- sumption of alcohol and longevity it would require a number of men and women of like ages, similar ancestry, occupations and civil conditions, and that no such experiment had been carried out. They add that "The statistical evidence at present available does not suggest that a strictly moderate use of alcohol unfavourably affects the mortality rate of the users."
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