I've found more than one reference to Andrew Lang and to Mark Twain, but no
precise source for either. Nearly everyone, however, replaces 'leaning on'
by 'support'.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lambourne Adrian (5GK) HIS-HERTS" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 12:58 PM
Subject: Re: Just for fun
> On a similar subject, does anyone know the origin of the expression
>
> "Statistics are like a lamp-post to a drunken man - more for leaning on
than
> illumination"
>
>
> Adrian
> Adrian Lambourne
> Head of Health Information
> Hertfordshire Health Informatics Service (HHIS)
> Tel 01707 361 221
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 06 December 2002 12:30
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Just for fun
>
>
> One of my students assures me that the interquartile range is "often
> used as a measure of depression".
>
> Martin
>
> ***************************************************
> Martin Bland
> Prof. of Medical Statistics
> St. George's Hospital Medical School
> London SW17 0RE
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.mbland.sghms.ac.uk/
> ***************************************************
>
>
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