Locations of Ancient Woolworths Stores follow Precise Geometrical Pattern | Hacker News Reader

Locations of Ancient Woolworths Stores follow Precise Geometrical Pattern

bengoldacre.posterous.com

89 pointsmootothemax16 comments

Take away:

...in any sufficiently large set of random data it is possible to find meaningless patterns of any required accuracy.

Stop giving away our secrets! -- social science

(Seriously though, this is issue keeps me up at night, since I test so often. The only thing that gets me back to sleep is that I figure that even if I call a test wrongly every once and a while, the bottom line number seems to be moving in mostly the right direction, so it should come out in the wash.)

Yep. It's "The Bible Code" all over again.

I remember reading a fantastic in-depth analysis of one of the Harry Potter books in the same style as the Bible Code. IIRC it predicted all sorts of real-world events. (It wasn't a serious analysis, it was to debunk the Bible Code.)

I can't find it now, but then it must have been about 7 or 8 years ago.

These patterns were found from the 800 random ex-Woolworth locations by simply skipping over the vast majority of the sites and only choosing the few that happen to line-up.

Nice.

So maybe this can help name this scientific syndrome: This conclusion is Woolworthed.

If you like this (as I do), you'll love Nacirema.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacirema

And we have the obligatory global warming statement at the end. Ugh.

Is it possible to write a science story nowadays without somehow taking a stand on global warming? Seems like no matter what the subject, somehow the author gets back to GW.

It is related, in this case.

Seems to me that it's always related, right?

Or put differently: it's related if you feel that the discussion around global warming involves cherry-picking data by skeptics. In that case it's very relevant. If, on the other hand, you feel that the discussion around global warming is at it's heart based on the politicization of science? Then the article is just another example of using the media to try to argue a political point in a scientific context.

Is it so difficult to stick to the story? We all agree you can cherry-pick data and make it say anything. Surely both sides of the GW debate don't have a problem with that statement. So why try to use it against one side without giving a response from them? It's a cheap shot.

Not that I entirely disagree, but I think this article was motivated by trying to debunk popular examples of data abuse. Granted, they could have limited themselves to just debunking the "ancient buildings" stuff, but if GW was also a motivator for them, why not? Ultimately, the point they are making is actually well known, going the "Woolworth" route can only have been aimed at the media.

The very name Frank Woolworth anagrams to 'fowl hornwort ka', suggesting a demonic tryst in search of immortality.

Data suggests a Proctor & Gamble connection. We expect to verify this with 3-D analysis of data from New York's formerly tallest building. Stay up-to-date with our newsletter.

This reminds me of the layout of Washington D.C.: http://whatisthepyramid.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/penta...

I stopped reading this at “he does not rule out extraterrestrial help.”

You should have kept reading. It was a fairly nicely written satire of the "he" referred to in your quote.

On a broader point, although it is efficient to quickly dismiss the ludicrous, it's unwise to universally ignore every such instance. Rather, consider using a heavier dose of skepticism. After all, some discoveries really are weird.

I take your point.

There is just so much crazy-talk out there that sometimes my spidey-sense kicks in too early I suppose.

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