SpaceX rockets and MrBeast? This website connects the weirdest dots
· pcworld.com · popularity 20/100 · 0 similar stories today · Oddities, Curiosities & Trivia (Discovery & Research)
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Summary
Did you know that the number of Catholic exorcists in the U.S. is correlated with the U.S. GDP per capita? Does this mean that demonic activity is driven by U.S. prosperity? Of course not. But—put your tinfoil hats on—the numbers sure make it seem possible if you squint hard enough. That’s what Get Spurious is all about: statistically true but logically meaningless correlations. This website uncovers bizarre, pointless, sometimes hilarious connections between real-world statistics. As the name suggests, it specializes in spurious correlations , where two unrelated things appear to follow the same pattern despite having no meaningful connection. The site pulls data from a large variety of sources like public databases, government records, sports statistics, and economic reports. It then looks for false trends that just happen to match up. Some of the best examples that I’ve come across, besides the above, are: SpaceX rocket launches tracking alongside MrBeast’s YouTube subscriber count and smoking rates in the U.S. inversely lining up with babies named Khaleesi. On the Get Spurious homepage it presents you with a random spurious correlation. Each includes a chart showing how the two trends line up over time, plus a correlation score measuring how closely they match. You can click Browse all to explore all of the other examples. You can also search by topic, including food, science, sports, and economics. It’s an entertaining rabbit hole, but there’s a useful lesson here, too. Correlation doesn’t equal causation. Just because two statistics move together doesn’t mean one has anything to do with the other. It’s a fallacy that is too often ignored nowadays and the site is a chuckle-inducing reminder as to why you shouldn’t believe every eye-catching statistic you see online. For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter .
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