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The law is a trend throughout, not a pass/fail based on if the number of polls is "large enough" Burr Send a noteboard - 06/10/2012 03:26:33 PM
The Law of Large Numbers is not dependent on what your brain conceives as a large number.

Whatever the margin of error of each poll and whatever the number of polls total, averaging more than one poll provides, on average, a better information to noise ratio than any one of those polls provided by itself.

This would be true even if we were only averaging a mere two polls, each with a horrible margin of error.

You can do an experiment in Excel if you like. Put =Rand()*100 into cells A1 and cell B1 to produce two random numbers between 0 and 100. The real average is 50, and any difference from either of the two random cells is error.

Now, in cell C1, put "=average(A1, B1)". This is of course the average of the two poll cells. It may or may not have hit closer to 50 in a single instance, but I promise you it will do better than either of the two poll cells, on average. We're going to test my promise.

We can make three more cells in that row (D1, E1, and F1) to measure the error of each of the first three cells we made. You can do this as standard error if you want, but I'll keep things simple by using absolute error. Use these three formulas:

=abs(50-A1)
=abs(50-B1)
=abs(50-C1)

Now copy all six cells that we've made in that row and paste them down their respective columns a gazillion times. Say, from row 1 to row 500,000.

When you've done that, create three more cells below (D500002, E500002, F500002). These cells will measure the average error that each poll and the average of the two polls produced. So put them below their respective "measure of error" cells and give them the following formulas:

=average(D1:D500000)
=average(E1:E500000)
=average(F1:F500000)

Lastly, average the two average errors for the two polls with "=average(D500002, E500002)" Put this somewhere close to the average error of the average of the polls (perhaps in G500002) so that you can compare them.

Between the average error of the average of the polls and the average error of the two polls unaveraged -- i.e., between the number in F500002 and the number you just created in G500002, whichever is lowest had the least amount of error. I guarantee you, F500002 will be the lower one.

In fact, averaging the the two polls together reduces average absolute error by a THIRD of the original average absolute error.

Why? Because the Law of Large Numbers is not dependent on what your brain conceives as a large number. It doesn't matter that we are only averaging two polls. On average, two polls are better than one poll. Their individual errors are not equal to the error of the average. It makes a difference, no matter how few or how many polls we average together.

(Furthermore, in terms of efficiency, the law of large numbers applies even better to a small number of polls averaged together than it does to a large number of polls averaged together. The first poll we add to the average will make a bigger improvement than the next poll we add, and so on and so forth.)
||||||||||*MySmiley*
Only so evil.
This message last edited by Burr on 06/10/2012 at 03:30:57 PM
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Romney CRUSHES Obama in First Debate - Leads Swing States by 4% - 04/10/2012 05:32:32 AM 1119 Views
So, is that from a "corrected", "non-skewed" poll? - 04/10/2012 05:51:58 AM 630 Views
Nope, I checked Betfair, the odds on Romney continue to drift - 04/10/2012 10:02:16 AM 717 Views
Wow, you suck at Googling! - 04/10/2012 01:14:22 PM 828 Views
No, you just apparently suck at math - 04/10/2012 07:17:20 PM 592 Views
I know you are sad, but your Messiah may still win.....you never know! - 04/10/2012 07:23:16 PM 658 Views
I'm more of a syndicalist, sorry - 04/10/2012 08:43:48 PM 691 Views
Ooh, would you mind talking more about syndicalism? - 04/10/2012 11:28:40 PM 597 Views
It really should be mandatory for everyone to read factcheck.org after every debate. *NM* - 04/10/2012 09:38:24 AM 368 Views
Seriously. The number of times I squinted and thought, "Wait, that doesn't sound quite right" - 04/10/2012 02:01:12 PM 720 Views
Romney addressed that head-on - 04/10/2012 02:13:44 PM 613 Views
Yeah, that "20 million" comment raised my eyebrows. - 04/10/2012 04:15:49 PM 975 Views
Why are you not counting the elderly? - 04/10/2012 07:33:28 PM 865 Views
Obama - Lost and Bewildered without Teleprompter.....funny stuff! - 04/10/2012 01:10:40 PM 645 Views
A2000, your message should read: - 04/10/2012 03:42:18 PM 668 Views
I consider the margin of error implied. - 04/10/2012 05:49:50 PM 572 Views
Unfortunately statistics does not support that. - 04/10/2012 06:11:56 PM 686 Views
Of course they do; the law of averages supports that. - 04/10/2012 06:46:27 PM 717 Views
Poll numbers aren't random so even if the law of averages could be applied to a small data set... - 04/10/2012 07:05:49 PM 596 Views
that is why you can't base things on just one poll - 05/10/2012 01:27:18 AM 772 Views
You are making the same mistake Joel is making. You should read our discussion. *NM* - 05/10/2012 01:50:01 AM 448 Views
there is a difference between statistical errors and model or method errors - 05/10/2012 03:28:38 AM 657 Views
There is a difference between the law of averages and the law of large numbers. - 05/10/2012 04:45:00 AM 852 Views
you left out part of that wiki quote you pasted - 05/10/2012 05:30:52 AM 797 Views
You still haven't justified the application of the law of large numbers. - 05/10/2012 12:24:51 PM 551 Views
I suggest you take some time to understand what I wrote and get back to me - 05/10/2012 01:12:03 PM 581 Views
I obviously must have missed where you justified the use of the law of large numbers. - 05/10/2012 04:43:51 PM 632 Views
WellI did that twice and I am waiting for you to refute what I said *NM* - 05/10/2012 05:28:18 PM 431 Views
Since you are unwilling to be helpful... - 05/10/2012 05:50:47 PM 741 Views
The law is a trend throughout, not a pass/fail based on if the number of polls is "large enough" - 06/10/2012 03:26:33 PM 728 Views
can wait for Ryan vs Bozo the VP - 04/10/2012 06:07:30 PM 542 Views
+1 - that debate is going to be comical! - 04/10/2012 07:24:26 PM 656 Views
I would end up with alchohol posioning *NM* - 04/10/2012 10:16:51 PM 400 Views
If Biden performs as expected... - 04/10/2012 07:46:16 PM 689 Views
your take on obama's foreign policy debate performance does not seem like reality - 04/10/2012 08:00:51 PM 629 Views
I never would have thought Romney could lay such a beatdown on Obama as I saw last night. - 04/10/2012 08:55:46 PM 701 Views
we saw the anti-romney last night. i doubt obama is going to be so flat-footed against him next time - 04/10/2012 10:35:21 PM 627 Views
Hilarious. - 04/10/2012 11:20:32 PM 582 Views
Re: Hilarious. - 05/10/2012 12:27:33 AM 591 Views
Why can it not be both? - 05/10/2012 12:58:59 PM 730 Views
who would you consider our number one geopolitical foe? - 04/10/2012 10:12:53 PM 708 Views
China is far more dangerous. *NM* - 05/10/2012 07:23:06 AM 304 Views
Whoa, was not expecting that point of agreement. - 05/10/2012 12:35:35 PM 737 Views
I'm not frightened of them, but they're hardly an ally. *NM* - 05/10/2012 03:55:45 PM 405 Views
I am not frightened, but am concerned. - 06/10/2012 01:27:40 PM 709 Views
they may be more dangerous but that doesn't that doesn't automatically make them first - 05/10/2012 01:09:30 PM 709 Views
That's fair enough. *NM* - 05/10/2012 03:54:56 PM 351 Views
WOW - Even the liberal CNN Poll confirms Romney's crushing victory. - 04/10/2012 07:27:28 PM 737 Views
I could have crushed either of them in that debate - 04/10/2012 09:26:07 PM 719 Views
I watched it now. A few thoughts (albeit rather late): - 05/10/2012 09:46:02 PM 771 Views
You are correct on all points. - 07/10/2012 03:12:51 AM 879 Views
"There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." - 07/10/2012 02:03:49 PM 1161 Views
you are missing a key point - 07/10/2012 04:34:17 PM 677 Views
Am I missing that point? I thought I said clearly enough that I thought Romney was better. *NM* - 07/10/2012 08:47:42 PM 411 Views
maybe, seemed that way to me - 08/10/2012 03:18:18 PM 655 Views

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