Numbers graveyard
The term cemetery of numbers is a metaphor for a confusing collection of numbers , the context and meaning of which is difficult or impossible to recognize, especially in statistics and economics .
The information is either lost due to the amount of redundancy or is not recognizable because it is lost in the mass of data. It therefore remains without any discernible factual significance. The cemetery of numbers would only be given additional labeling, e.g. B. through diagrams or typographical highlighting, legends to achieve a recognizable information content.
The problem of "information loss due to excessive amounts of information" was recognized early on by the statistics . The information is drastically reduced by different measures such as measures of dispersion , measures of correlation , etc. as well as typing the distribution of data (e.g. normal distribution, Bernoulli distribution , see frequency distribution ) and the like. The associated loss of information is accepted, since the conclusions drawn on the application of the parameters mentioned are generally in no way inferior in their validity to an analysis of all available data.
Precisely because such statistical analysis techniques and modern, mostly EDP-supported presentation techniques exist, the term cemetery of numbers contains an extremely negative value judgment about the information presented and the professionalism of its author.
swell
- ↑ Norbert Henze : Stochastics for beginners. Vieweg + Teubner, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8348-0423-5 , chapter "Basic concepts of descriptive statistics", (pp. 22–38)
- ↑ Book title "Against the cemetery of numbers - The new annual report" ( Memento of May 24, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 431 kB)