Re: [Paddlewise] Rudder redux

On 7/3/07, Nick Schade <nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com> wrote:

> I guess I don't see any statistics here.


Caffyn took his average daily mileage before rudder installation and
compared it with his average daily mileage after rudder installation and
published that figure. That is a statstical analysis; however rudimentary

Again, the value in Caffyn's data is that it was a byproduct of the agenda
not the agenda itself. The results, according to Caffyn, surprised him
because prior to the modifications of his kayak he was unwilling to believe
that there would be any benefits.


> He has not done anything to raise it above the level of
> anecdote.


So you don't think that the daily records of mileages on a trip of that
length amounts to any more than "anecdotal"?

And how would you "raise" data to something above anecdotal? I have the
feeling that we are talking at cross-purposes here. Anecdotal data would not
be a series of mileage entries. It would be something on the order of, "I
must've paddled 100 miles that day."

The fact that Caffyn is an "expert" makes it an anecdote
> worth paying attention to, but his conclusions are still capable
> being mistaken.


Well, aren't all conclusions capable of being mistaken? And, again, why
would his records be anecdotal?


Craig Jungers
Royal City, WA
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