Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Pirate's Post: Here be Dragons

Yo ho
and there's a map to
where the skeletons lie,
sunning themselves
on the sand and
Spanish gold
lying
at the bottom
of the deep blue sea

Yo ho
you think you know
where x lies
but a jaunty tilt
is all the dragons need
for misdeeds and
misdirection
sending the unlucky
straight to the
skeleton's rocks
lying
at the bottom
of the seven seas

Yo ho
I'll wave the flag of fear
with crossbones
and let it fly
over the water
with a jaunty tilt -
It's a dangerous boat
on a treacherous sea
but here be dragons,
and if you're watching me
you'll miss them
amongst the glitter
of gold
on the rocks
at the bottom
of the seventh sea


A.J. Ponder

I know it's late, but I do hope you enjoy this little pirate piece on the danger of statistics!

A.J. 
Author of Quest, Prophecy, Omens, Miss Lionheart and the Laboratory of Death, Wizard's Guide to Wellington, Attack of the Giant Bugs - a You Choose Science Adventure, and The Frankie Files



(paid link)


(paid link)


(paid link)


(paid link)








5 comments:

  1. I feel danger over the horizon... stay safe, AJ! Thanks for posting. Fun stuff!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping by Michelle - I certainly hope your horizons are clear!! :) We'll do our best to stay safe, but when your kids have chronic illnesses there's a fair bit of negotiating of reefs, and trying not to panic needlessly.

      Delete
  2. The danger of statistics - I'm intrigued, AJ. I enjoyed the poem and puzzled over the photo. Can you elucidate? Skeletons beneath the sea, and I think of Hart Crane. (See my diagram of his poem, "At Melville's Tomb" - http://tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/at-melvilles-tomb-by-hart-crane.html ). Would be interested in your thoughts. - Zireaux (http://www.immortalmuse.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sick of agendas fighting dirty, when it comes to health "undoctored" information needs to be available. Statistics are tricky enough, but there are some simple tricks to make even the worst graphs look "better" or "worse" than they actually should. Poor choice of scale, careful choice of the time frame etc etc. Unless people get a whole lot more sophisticated we're not going to be able to make the best decisions on a case by case basis. The graph has had info removed so as not to be recognizable, because that wasn't the point. Needless to say I've seen the pro side and the anti side and it's obvious they are choosing their data carefully rather than being honest - and they did it by carefully choosing their time frames.

      Delete
    2. and thanks for dropping by!!! :)

      Delete