Telecommunication Refutation
Many people often say that I never call them—that it’s impossible to communicate with me. But what about this statistic? According to the log on my phone, calls that I have dialed are 82% of my talking time; calls received are only 18%. In other words, it is four and half times more likely that I have called you than that you have called me.
Note: Consider this an exercise in detecting spurious logic. If anyone can refute me in less than two days, I will recognize his acheivement here. (It shouldn’t be hard.) If no one steps up, I will refute myself in two days.
Posted 9 Sep. 2006 at 6:22 pm | Permalink
Distribution of calls. How many of those outgoing calls were to your girlfriend? Once we exclude those, I imagine the rest of us have much lower odds.
Posted 10 Sep. 2006 at 12:25 am | Permalink
Excellent point, Becca. By my analysis, your argument is one of four points that can be made in refutation. So far you’re winning the competition, but let’s see if anyone can make the other three arguments.
Posted 10 Sep. 2006 at 3:04 pm | Permalink
You also could’ve called, say, 2 people and had 5 hour conversations with each one and received 25 calls and had 2 minute conversations with each person. I don’t know the technical term for it, but there’s my argument.
I’m a genius.
Posted 10 Sep. 2006 at 3:38 pm | Permalink
Good job, Audrey. You’ve mentioned an important point: the length of call is different than the number of calls. That goes hand in hand with Becca’s argument, since presumably calls to a girl are likely to last longer than calls to wake Kellen up for class. It is also a subpoint of another argument, but you didn’t quite articulate it as clearly as you might have. I say that you and Becca are about neck and neck.
Posted 10 Sep. 2006 at 8:50 pm | Permalink
…..I say this is ridiculous…just call the people who say they never talk to you or just keep going the way you do.
Posted 11 Sep. 2006 at 10:26 am | Permalink
You will get no more from me. In general, I don’t particularly like to talk on the phone and rarely call anyone. Communication is what the internet is for. Cell phones are for wake-up alarms and emergency directions when you get lost.
Posted 11 Sep. 2006 at 11:10 am | Permalink
I find it interesting that the only people who have paid any attention to this post by comment, phone, or e-mail are women . . .
Posted 11 Sep. 2006 at 12:51 pm | Permalink
Because no one cares. I don’t even know why I paid attention to this post.
Posted 11 Sep. 2006 at 8:59 pm | Permalink
Times up as of 5 hours ago, according to your blog anyway, but I still have something to say. These girls are absolutely right but I will put it in a more blunt way. : ) You only talk to people that you call because your selfish your time is the best time. All incoming calls get brief answers if any at all. So of course, your timer will read higher on outgoing than incoming. So next time you publish your statistics try using the number of outgoing and incoming calls not the time spent on them. Stick to what you said you were measuring. Danderso will have more to say on this, he did better than me in ElStats.
Oh and Dr. G was awesome even if I did stink at it.
Don’t forgit to call me some time! : )
Posted 11 Sep. 2006 at 10:37 pm | Permalink
This is going badly for me . . .
Posted 12 Sep. 2006 at 12:11 am | Permalink
So what percentage of calls were “Missed” according to the phone log? Does your phone log ignored calls? And how many poor souls could find their names shamed by your block list, huh Lincoln Mullen!! You skewer of statistical certainty!! Fibber of phone info!
I’m glad i don’t have a cell phone (well, glad right now. probably in about 5 minutes my mind will have changed… err, wait, changing already…).
Posted 15 Sep. 2006 at 11:31 pm | Permalink
1. The measure of time spent talking is not equivalent to the number of calls made or received.
2. The high concentration of calls for the top few people on your call list prevents the same probability from applying to any given person on that list.
3. Your statistic says nothing of initiative. It does not record how much of your calling time was spent returning calls or voicemails–circumstances in which you could not honestly say you made the call.
4. Your statistic completely misses the target you’re aiming at: spending more time calling certain others more than they call you in no way proves that you are even an average communicator. I mean, who cares if you call all three people on your contacts list more than they call you? The 700 other subscribers to this blog are still left in the cold…
Posted 16 Sep. 2006 at 10:32 am | Permalink
Bravo, brother Funk. I could not have more clearly refuted myself. You win the prize: a phone call tonight. ;-)
Posted 16 Sep. 2006 at 11:06 pm | Permalink
What, I wonder, are the philosophical and psychological implications of the last two posts?