Storks Deliver Babies (p= 0.008) (2000) [pdf]

Related: Lack of pirates is causing global warming:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;erikaandersen&#x2F;2012&#x2F;03&#x2F;23&#x2F;true-fact-the-lack-of-pirates-is-causing-global-warming&#x2F;?sh=24e341713a67" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;erikaandersen&#x2F;2012&#x2F;03&#x2F;23&#x2F;true-f...</a>

This is rather silly (and not in the way intended).<p>The goal of the paper is to demonstrate a strong linear correlation which arises without a trivial confounder (such as age influencing both reading age and shoe size in children). However, the confounder in the case of storks (country land area influences number of storks and absolute number of births) IS trivial.

My mom was an OB&#x2F;GYN nurse for several decades. She worked in Active Labor for many years with a nurse named Alice Stork.<p>This Stork did indeed deliver thousands of babies.

Related: &quot;The ASA Statement on p-Values: Context, Process, and Purpose&quot;<p>- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tandfonline.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1080&#x2F;00031305.2016.1154108" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tandfonline.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1080&#x2F;00031305.2016.1...</a><p>- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=30324223" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=30324223</a>

Reminded me of this: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;tylervigen.com&#x2F;spurious-correlations" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;tylervigen.com&#x2F;spurious-correlations</a>

I wouldn’t trust this article. How can only be 1 pair of storks in Belgium, while 5000 pairs in Hungary? I think the article needs better peer review before I accept the fact that storks deliver babies.

I only see the first page when I click the article link. I found the full text online here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;profile&#x2F;Robert-Matthews-2&#x2F;publication&#x2F;227763292_Storks_Deliver_Babies_p_0008&#x2F;links&#x2F;56f138d708aec9e096b316c9&#x2F;Storks-Deliver-Babies-p-0008.pdf?origin=publication_detail" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.researchgate.net&#x2F;profile&#x2F;Robert-Matthews-2&#x2F;publi...</a>

Past related thread:<p><i>Storks Deliver Babies (p= 0.008)</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=24700606" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=24700606</a> - Oct 2020 (58 comments)

A hypothesis test allows us to say we rejected the null hypothesis.<p>It doesn&#x27;t prove anything else besides that.

Another good resource on how (not) to mess up statistics is <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.statisticsdonewrong.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.statisticsdonewrong.com&#x2F;</a>

I doubt storks care about national borders and this should probably be repeated using birth rates in general areas around stork populations ;)

Is it just me or is this article unreadable due to the atrocious typesetting? All the letters overlap.

The fusion of hydrogen into helium E = 0.008 mc ^2. Coincidence? I think not.

The confounding variable is how developed a country is.<p>It negatively influences both stork pairs (storks in Europe mostly live in old-style individual farming countryside) and birth rates.