Studies & Statistics
I was reading an article in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago that stated that a study had shown that people who floss their teeth regularly live longer than people who don’t floss their teeth at all. How bizarre! Does flossing one’s teeth mean one enjoys a longer life?
Of course, the truth more likely lies somewhere in the fact that if you take the time to floss your teeth on a regular basis, you probably look after the whole of your health a lot better, and therefore you live longer. This particular case is a good example of how the results of a study undertaken, and the statistics that can be drawn from it, can often show a picture that is not always true or accurate.
Another newspaper article I read a couple of years ago said that a person reading just one Saturday edition of the New York Times takes in more information than a person, living 150 years ago, would have had during their whole life.
What links these two pieces of trivia? Well, we can access knowledge on any subject in the world now, just by the click of a mouse. That makes us more knowledgeable on many subjects, albeit on a shallow level, than any other generation before us. But the teeth flossing study shows us that we need to take care with the information we read and the conclusions we draw from it.
There is no substitute for good old-fashioned common sense when faced with an array of information and statistics. Let’s put that common sense to good use by making sensible decisions on matters that effect our health. Good health is the first prerequisite for a happy and long life. You can be healthy without necessarily being happy or living to an old age, but it’s pretty hard to be happy or old if you’re in poor health!
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