As a scientist who has moved into the business world, it amazes me how statistics are abused.
When I was conducting scientific research, the goal was to come up with an air-tight (or as air-tight as possible) case for your hypothesis. If you presented your findings at a meeting, you better be prepared for the onslaught of questions like "Did you consider X?" and "What about Y?".
Then I moved to the business side and holy crap are the standards lower. Of course it's easier to prove something in a lab than in the real world, but in so many cases I've seen somebody say "If you do X, you will get Y result, based on the data I analyzed". Then I raise my hand and say "But what about Z? That could explain your results." and all I get is blank stares like I just solved a differential wave function in my head.
When I was conducting scientific research, the goal was to come up with an air-tight (or as air-tight as possible) case for your hypothesis. If you presented your findings at a meeting, you better be prepared for the onslaught of questions like "Did you consider X?" and "What about Y?".
Then I moved to the business side and holy crap are the standards lower. Of course it's easier to prove something in a lab than in the real world, but in so many cases I've seen somebody say "If you do X, you will get Y result, based on the data I analyzed". Then I raise my hand and say "But what about Z? That could explain your results." and all I get is blank stares like I just solved a differential wave function in my head.