Re: Re:Plane crashes and other accidents

ChuckKuecker (ckuecker@mcs.net)
Thu, 16 Apr 1998 13:53:38 -0500 (CDT)

At 23:03 4/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>I respectfully disagree. Especially when you consider a population, the
>probability of an unnatural death does NOT increase. If the population
>decided to take more airplane rides than normal per year per person, then
>the frequency of accidents would increase as a function of the number of
>flights. If, on the other hand, the overall level of risk-aversive behavior
>reamins the same, the frequency of accidents will not increase as a function
>of time. Look, the simple way of saying this is that if you live twice as
>long, you'll have twice as many accidents. That's not the same thing as
>saying the accident "frequency" increases. If something happens once/year
>and you're around one year, then odds are you will see it happen once. If
>you're around two years you'll see it happen twice. The frequency hasn't
>changed. Is that clearer?
>

Statistics was not my strong point in school. I see the difference between
'frequency' and 'quantity' now..frequency is 'how often', and has no bearing
on 'how many'..

Thanks for the pointer.

Chuck Kuecker