ABSTRACT
The problem with statistics is that they are often misinterpreted: for example, if 30% of all accidents are caused by drunken drivers, it does not imply that 70% are caused by sober ones, who are therefore the greater danger: so you have to think about what the figures really mean. The death rate in the American Navy during the Spanish-American War was 0.9%. For civilians in New York City during the same period it was 1.6%. This suggests that it was safer to be in the Navy than out of it, but the groups are not really comparable. The Navy is made up of mostly young healthy men, whereas the civilian population includes infants, the old, and the ill, all of whom have a higher death rate wherever you are.
