Just Kill Me Right Now

Any of my sons can testify to the Gentleman Farmer’s attitude toward ignorance of that branch of mathematics syled "statistics." Hell, anyone who’s spent more than 20 minutes in my presence could tell you about it. It is my opinion that while poll taxes, religious tests, and literacy requirements provide no basis for limiting the franchise, no person should be permitted to vote without passing a college-level course in statistics. If the basis for this is not obvious, then you are very probably among the group to be disenfranchised upon my elevation to the office of President-for-Life.

The Gentleman Farmer is also interested in general trends in the real estate market, since we are very likely to sell our home in Washington within the next several years. Thus, my attention was attracted to the CNNMoney.com headline “New Home Sales Post Surprise Rise.” The article is written by “Grace Wong,” billed as a CNNMoney.com “staff writer.” That is, this is a person who gets paid -- who takes money -- to write about economic matters. Matters which, more than some of the time, will require rather more than a casual knowledge of the science of statistics.

My attention was drawn to this paragraph (emphasis mine):

The latest Census Bureau report shows median prices for new residences sold in December fell 1.5 percent from the previous month to $221,800. Half of the homes sold for more than the median, the rest for less.

Imagine that. Does the Federal Reserve know about this?