Supermassive Logical Error on Tonight's Morgan Freeman Show

R

Robert Schunk

Registered Senior Member
One of the scientists on tonight's episode of "Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman", which is a physics-based popularization of (usually) cosmological questions, made a major logical boo-boo on a calculation. He was calculating the amount of time each day that we spend conscious, both while awake and while dreaming in REM sleep. Assuming that we are awake 16 hours each day and asleep 8 hours, and that REM sleep is 20% of our sleep time, 20% of 8 is 1.6, 1.6 is 10% of 16, ergo, he says we spend one-tenth of our conscious time while dreaming.

:confused:

The total time we spend conscious each day, both asleep and awake, must equal 16 hours awake PLUS 1.6 hours dreaming, therefor we spend, not one-tenth of our conscious lives dreaming, but one-eleventh!

Sheesh!
 
Has anyone else noticed any interesting statistical errors on TV or Radio?
The more mathematically complicated the better.
Post them here today.
This is where they will be appreciated.
 
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The weather forecasters seem to think that hot weather is good weather, even when it's killing people.
So when it's been 100 F for 20 days with 90% Humidity,
the forecaster comes on saying that "The Good weather will continue".
 
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Captain Kremmen said:
Has anyone else noticed any interesting statistical errors on TV or Radio?
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Not an error really but I love those sports "statistics" like "most yards rushing against a wind of more than three miles per hour on a Tuesday afternoon by a player with more than fourteen letters in his name in a stadium with a seating capacity of over 50,000 east of the Mississippi...." and so on.
 
I like it when someone states that "nothing" is better at achieving this or that (like regrowing hair - solving erectile dysfunction - removing pet stains - dropping extra lbs. - alleviating stress/social anxiety disorder/high blood pressure/ depression/ADHD/halitosis...etc), and then proceeding to try to sell you "something" to do just that! If nothing does the job better than everything else, how is buying "something" going to increase the chances for success?
Also, when someone starts a statement with "I don't think...", is it wrong of me to be suspect of anything that follows those opening three words?
And how about the "talking heads"on newscasts that have fake names, fake hair, fake teeth, fake breasts or other surgical embellishments that are just as fake, that expect me to believe that what they read from a teleprompter is 100% fact!!
Is it just me?
 
sideshowbob said:
Not an error really but I love those sports "statistics" like "most yards rushing against a wind of more than three miles per hour on a Tuesday afternoon by a player with more than fourteen letters in his name in a stadium with a seating capacity of over 50,000 east of the Mississippi...." and so on.
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I am old school. I try to memorize those.
That sounds like a really good statistic.
 
The often reported measure of prosperity by average (arithmetic mean) yearly gross household income.

Not, say, median net hourly wage.
 
Robert Schunk said:
One of the scientists on tonight's episode of "Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman", which is a physics-based popularization of (usually) cosmological questions, made a major logical boo-boo...
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You mean, besides the entire stupid Deepak Chopra premise of the show? Shame on you Morgan Freeman for promoting pseudoscience!
 
iceaura said:
The often reported measure of prosperity by average (arithmetic mean) yearly gross household income.

Not, say, median net hourly wage.
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20 Million people earn £10,000 a year each = £200 Billion
Another 100,000 people earn £1 Million a year = £100 Billion
Another 100 people earn £1 Billion a year = £100 Billion


So the average wage is £20,000, even though 99% earn £10,000
That's statistics for yer.
 
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Captain Kremmen said:
20 Million people earn £10,000 a year each = £200 Billion
Another 100,000 people earn £1 Million a year = £100 Billion
Another 100 people earn £1 Billion a year = £100 Billion


So the average wage is £20,000, even though 99% earn £10,000
That's statistics for yer.
Click to expand...

Yes but who pays the most tax?

THE 99%.
 
My point wasn't about how much people were earning, it was about statistics.
They can be very misleading, don't you think?

With regard to the tax, the 1% should pay half of the total tax, in the example I gave,
in order to to pay their fair share.

Often, rich people use tax evasion to avoid their social responsibility,
and pay a lower tax percentage than poorer people.
Greed is an evil, I'm sure you will agree.

The figures aren't accurate, they show the general idea of what I was proposing.
 
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