Top 10 myths that do not pass the test of statistics
Received ideas still have a bright future ahead of them. The proof, the statistics may have invalidated them for a long time, we continue to believe in them (well, some continue). So we’re going to restore the truth a little in all this fabric of lies in which we get tripped up like fawns with weak supports endangered by the roughness sewn on the carpet of life that spreads out under our feet. Do you find this image a bit long? It’s time to start reading this top.
1. “Illegal immigration is stronger than ever in the United States”
A good big fakenews if you want my opinion. Even if it is difficult to establish the number of illegal migrants from Mexico in particular to the United States, we know that the peak of 1.6 million was reached in 2000 and has been declining since. There were no more than 331,000 in 2015. (source)
2. “Young people are taking drugs more and more”
That’s the kind of thing you can still hear in the boomer friendly. Well you’ll be glad to know that’s not true. Young people use drugs less and less (unlike adults who push their consumption more). In addition, in 15 years the proportion of 17-year-olds who have never had a drop of alcohol has tripled (source).
3. “Young people are reading less and less”
Not even trueyyyyy! Against all odds, can you imagine that young people are even reading more than before (if even the Figaro the saying is that it must be true). An IPSOS survey has indeed revealed that between 2022 and 2016, there was a 5% increase among young people aged 7 to 19 who said they read for leisure.
4. “Serial killers aren’t geniuses”
Ouiiii agree I know that you had listed the serial killers with the highest IQ but in reality it is not so common as that. The average would even be around 94 IQ (while the average intelligence is generally between 90 and 110). So please stop fantasizing about Dahmer. (source)
5. “My child is HPI”
We had already explained to you why parents all think that their children are HPI. Indeed, if there is a significant increase in requests for tests and therefore more and more parents who think that their child is gifted, only 2.3% of the population in France is affected by this strange grace. (source)
6. Burglaries happen more often at night
NOOOOOOOOPE. 80% of burglaries even take place during the day (and therefore 20% at night, yeah that makes sense actually). So if you come across someone with bad intentions at home at night, it may be one of the worst burglars in history.
7. “The world is a ‘global village’ thanks to the internet”
Does the Internet allow us to get closer? Well, not that much if you look at the figures more closely (but even fairly close, you can see that it doesn’t fit): on the planet, 3 billion people do not have access to the internet. 3 out of 8 people so. I have known global villages that are much more global than that.
8. “There are too many of us on the planet”
Aye we just exceeded 8 billion on the planet. To give you an idea, in 1900 we flirted more with the 1.5 billion so we might as well say that we are starting to be numerous. And coincidentally the planet is getting warmer and warmer. From there to associating overpopulation and climate change, there is only one step.
Obviously, the more humans there are on earth, the more we pollute. However, it is a little more complex than that, because the countries where women give birth the most are also those with the lowest carbon footprint. We could thus read in the study “Carbon and inequality: from Kyoto to Paris” (November 2015) that a North American had a carbon footprint of 22.5 tons per year, that is 2000 times more than the people poorest in Mozambique, Rwanda or Malawi.
Overpopulation is a subject, all right, but it would be more accurate to point fingers at the behavior of the current population: a North American has fewer children but pollutes much more than an inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa, c he is therefore rather the problem. And I say that out of friendship for North Americans, by the way, I love big cars. (source)
9. “Lotto winners have a good rich life”
Well no. In fact, winning the lottery is certainly the worst thing that could happen to you and statistically, 70% of winners will lose all their fortune within 7 years. But that doesn’t stop you from following our advice to win the lottery.
10. Do you complain about earning ONLY 3000 bucks a month? You are one of the richest 10% of people on the planet.
It fucks the female dog that kind of statistics on the agent, I know, but at the same time, where are you complaining about earning 3000 bucks a month?