A Note on False Positives

A colleague sent me an email about my math. You’re more or less right, he said, but you need to account for the false positives.

I agree with him. (It’s true.)

The problem is, among others, how to present those numbers in the press.

Statistics don’t sell; still, an explanation is due.

In my next full post I’ll consider the meaning of false positives  – their significance and costs –  in the cancer screening debate.

Related Posts:

• A Closer Look at the Details on Mammography, in Between the Lines
• A Bit More on False Positives, Dec 2009, Part 1
• On Juno and Screening Test Stats
• More on Mammography, Breast Cancer, Misleading Arguments, Emotion and Women’s Health
• Reading Between the Lines, and Learning from an Epidemiologist