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STATISTICAL_INDIVIDUAL

                                            April 4, 2003



Stats show:

   SUVs aren't safer.
   They roll-over.        So the SUV drivers all go:
                          "Oh, we did not realize
                          that.  Why are we
                          wasting this gas?."

   Driving on a cell is
   grossly dangerous, like
   being drunk.

                          So the cell phone babblers
                          say "You know, I should hang
                          up now so that I can drive."


                                 Right?

                                 Not fucking likely.



Instead, they attack the stats,
and insist that *they* are good
SUV/Cell drivers, and there's no
reason they should be compelled     I've also heard people
to change their ways because        assert things like "I'm
*some* people can't handle it.      a good drunk driver.
                                    All my accidents have
                                    been when I was sober."

  I'm reasonably certain                        That argument
  that most of the people                       doesn't get taken
  saying this stuff are                         seriously, but the
  deluded, and certainly                        suvs-on-cells
  they're easy to make fun                      equivalent is.
  of, but it *is* possible
  that at least some of them
  are correct.


  Applying stats to individual cases
  is indeed a tricky business.

     E.g. the motorcyclists claim that
     most accidents happen to people who
     aren't even licensed riders yet.

        If something like that's true,
        you *can* reasonably argue that
        the stats are being inflated by
        people who are demonstrably not
        like yourself.

        E.g. it could be that cell
        phone collisions are a              But there's supposed
        phenomena of inexperienced cell     to be scientific
        people, of which there are a        evidence that
        lot right now.  Maybe it'll         indicates that
        turn out to be a transient          human beings can't
        phenomena?                          handle this much
                                            "multi-tasking"...


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