Correlated (10 page)

60%
of people prefer fiction to nonfiction.

But among those who prefer lemons over limes,
72%
prefer fiction to nonfiction.

----------------

71%
of people like Robin Williams better in his funny roles than in his serious roles.

But among those who prefer lemons over limes,
82%
like Robin Williams better in his funny roles than in his serious roles.

----------------

59%
of people prefer Hillary Clinton over Bill Clinton.

But among those who prefer lemons over limes,
68%
prefer Hillary Clinton over Bill Clinton.

You're extremely likely to prefer lemons over limes if you both:

• don't like Dr Pepper
  
• consider yourself more generous than the average person
  

People who prefer lemons over limes are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• have posted their photo on a site where others vote on their attractiveness
  
• prefer bagels over croissants
  
• be tactful
  

61%
of people prefer doughnuts to muffins.

But among those who prefer Leno to Letterman,
74%
prefer doughnuts to muffins.

----------------

51%
of people think Mariah Carey has more talent than Christina Aguilera.

But among those who prefer Leno to Letterman,
63%
think Mariah Carey has more talent than Christina Aguilera.

----------------

65%
of people have brothers.

But among those who prefer Leno to Letterman,
76%
have brothers.

You're extremely likely to prefer Leno to Letterman if you both:

• would rather fight 100 duck-size horses than one horse-size duck
  
• think we're too generous with foreign aid
  

People who prefer Leno to Letterman are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• rather have stinky farts than loud farts
  
• say they could never be in a relationship with a smoker
  
• like yogurt
  

58%
of people like rock candy.

But among those who like licorice,
71%
like rock candy.

----------------

68%
of people know the difference between amps, volts, and ohms.

But among those who like licorice,
79%
know the difference between amps, volts, and ohms.

----------------

60%
of people stay in the movie theater until the credits end.

But among those who like licorice,
69%
stay in the movie theater until the credits end.

You're extremely likely to like licorice if you both:

• use shoe polish
  
• have a generally positive opinion about France
  

People who like licorice are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• watch TV news
  
• say their families moved around a lot during their childhood
  
• make New Year's resolutions
  

57%
of people say they are more likely to clam up than talk too much when they're around someone they're attracted to.

But among those who lose their appetite when they're upset,
69%
say they are more likely to clam up than talk too much when they're around someone they're attracted to.

----------------

32%
of people say they had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.

But among those who lose their appetite when they're upset,
44%
had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.

----------------

38%
of people ascend the stairs two at a time.

But among those who lose their appetite when they're upset,
48%
ascend the stairs two at a time.

You're extremely likely to lose your appetite when you're upset if you both:

• don't tend to overeat at buffets
  
• would rather have a feeding tube than a colostomy bag
  

People who lose their appetite when they're upset are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• have served as ring bearers or flower girls at a wedding
  
• take pleasure in putting things in order
  
• be sopranos or tenors
  

44%
of people regularly back up their files.

But among those who prefer Macs over PCs,
61%
regularly back up their files.

----------------

78%
of people like pesto sauce.

But among those who prefer Macs over PCs,
93%
like pesto sauce.

----------------

43%
of people say they are the first result in a Google search of their name.

But among those who prefer Macs over PCs,
57%
say they are the first result in a Google search of their name.

You're extremely likely to prefer Macs over PCs if you both:

• own an iPod or iPad
  
• use a laptop as your primary home computer
  

People who prefer Macs over PCs are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• think the penny should not be done away with
  
• say they'd be willing to have all memories from the past year wiped out in exchange for $500,000
  
• be able to name more than one song by Flo Rida
  

68%
of people know how to tie a necktie.

But among those who can't drive stick shift, only
52%
know how to tie a necktie.

----------------

38%
of people tend to choose tails in a coin toss.

But among those who can't drive stick shift,
51%
tend to choose tails in a coin toss.

----------------

47%
of people watch
The Big Bang Theory
.

But among those who can't drive stick shift, only
34%
watch
The Big Bang Theory
.

You're extremely likely to be unable to drive stick shift if you both:

• are not an engineer
  
• are not better educated than your parents
  

People who can't drive stick shift are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• prefer earbuds to headphones
  
• dislike pesto sauce
  
• say their favorite Girl Scout cookies are Thin Mints
  

33%
of people have flown first class.

But among those who have smoked marijuana,
47%
have flown first class.

----------------

41%
of people were into Nirvana.

But among those who have smoked marijuana,
55%
were into Nirvana.

----------------

44%
of people are fans of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.

But among those who have smoked marijuana,
57%
are fans of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.

You're extremely likely to have smoked marijuana if you both:

• have been given a hickey
  
• swear a lot
  

People who have smoked marijuana are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• say they're more likely to buy the single than buy the album
  
• prefer silver-colored jewelry to gold-colored jewelry
  
• rather find out they have a long-lost brother than a long-lost sister
  

48%
of people have carved a turkey.

But among married people,
72%
have carved a turkey.

----------------

54%
of people have donated blood.

But among married people,
70%
have donated blood.

----------------

49%
of people snore.

But among married people,
65%
snore.

You're extremely likely to be married if you both:

• have had hemorrhoids
  
• like to grill
  

Non-married people are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• like Ernie more than Bert
  
• eat corn on the cob in a spiral
  
• get easily sunburned
  

56%
of people think that if they could redo high school, knowing everything they know now, they would be just as uncool as they were the first time.

But among those who dislike mayonnaise,
67%
think that if they could redo high school, knowing everything they know now, they would be just as uncool as they were the first time.

----------------

43%
of people find it difficult to explain to people what kind of work they do.

But among those who dislike mayonnaise, only
32%
find it difficult to explain to people what kind of work they do.

----------------

60%
of people aren't good at remembering their dreams.

But among those who dislike mayonnaise,
70%
aren't good at remembering their dreams.

You're extremely likely to dislike mayonnaise if you both:

• hate mushrooms
  
• have a high energy level
  

People who dislike mayonnaise are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• prefer hard-shell tacos
  
• think their political opponents are, in general, more evil than stupid
  
• be social conservatives
  

49%
of people prefer creamy salad dressings to oily salad dressings.

But among those who know how to moonwalk,
62%
prefer creamy salad dressings.

----------------

60%
of people would rather play a bass drum than a tuba in a marching band.

But among those who know how to moonwalk,
72%
would rather play a bass drum than a tuba in a marching band.

----------------

48%
of people are skilled Capri Sun pouch puncturers.

But among those who know how to moonwalk,
60%
are skilled Capri Sun pouch puncturers.

You're extremely likely to know how to moonwalk if you both:

• can spin a basketball on your finger
  
• like comedians who do celebrity impressions
  

People who know how to moonwalk are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• plan their outfits the night before
  
• have visited someone in prison
  
• be faster than average readers
  

Technically, a correlation can exist only between two things that have a range of possible values, such as temperature or latitude. When there is a pattern to their relationship (for example, as one rises, so does the other, or as one rises, the other falls) we say that they are correlated.

The correlations in this book don't meet that formal definition because the surveys that were used asked people to choose from two opposing options, rather than a range of possible values. A statistics textbook would label them mere associations, rather than correlations.

Yet even though we can only informally use the term
correlation
to refer to these associations, this broader sense of the term is in widespread use, and although it may annoy some statistics sticklers, it's a meaning that's here to stay.

It's possible to have degrees of correlation and association, depending on how closely coupled the relationship is between the two variables.

For instance, you might find that there is a correlation, albeit a relatively weak one, between a person's annual income and his or her attractiveness, but a stronger correlation between a person's annual income and his or her education level.

74%
of people like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

But among those who are fluent in more than one language, only
56%
like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

----------------

39%
of people type two spaces between sentences.

But among those who are fluent in more than one language, only
23%
type two spaces between sentences.

----------------

33%
of people think Google hasn't done a good job of adhering to its unofficial “Don't be evil” motto.

But among those who are fluent in more than one language,
48%
think Google hasn't done a good job of adhering to its unofficial “Don't be evil” motto.

You're extremely likely to be multilingual if you both:

• were not born in the United States
  
• don't find Australians sexy
  

People who are multilingual are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:

• be side sleepers
  
• have had a root canal
  
• be skeptical about alternative medicine