Changes

:Andy, I interpreted your reference to the "small community" as referring to the town itself.  Apparently I misinterpreted.  Nobody is attempting to censor any discussion.  I am in fact trying to have a discussion.  I will ask again, would you please explain the methods that you used to derive these numbers, particularly the sample sizes but also the number of cancer diagnoses?  If you are correct, there is nothing to lose, and you can only gain from being transparent.  I have my doubts as to whether the population is truly as small as you say.  However, if you can show that it is, then your hypothesis is correct.  This is a matter of statistics, not of ideology.  An intro stats text will go into detail about why it is important to be clear and detailed about methodology, and that is what is missing here.   

:Andy, I interpreted your reference to the "small community" as referring to the town itself.  Apparently I misinterpreted.  Nobody is attempting to censor any discussion.  I am in fact trying to have a discussion.  I will ask again, would you please explain the methods that you used to derive these numbers, particularly the sample sizes but also the number of cancer diagnoses?  If you are correct, there is nothing to lose, and you can only gain from being transparent.  I have my doubts as to whether the population is truly as small as you say.  However, if you can show that it is, then your hypothesis is correct.  This is a matter of statistics, not of ideology.  An intro stats text will go into detail about why it is important to be clear and detailed about methodology, and that is what is missing here.   

:Out of curiosity, what are those medical reasons?  Regardless of what one would expect, one needs to show that the data back up the expectation.  [[User:Murray|Murray]] 14:19, 7 May 2008 (EDT)

:Out of curiosity, what are those medical reasons?  Regardless of what one would expect, one needs to show that the data back up the expectation.   

 

:Finally, the "fuss" is not about the possibility.  It is about making a claim and showing data that are not clear.  It's possible that any community has a higher rate of breast cancer.  Ashkenazi Jewish women, for example, are at greater risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that are associated with breast cancer.  But we know that because clear, detailed data have been published. [[User:Murray|Murray]] 14:19, 7 May 2008 (EDT)