March 28, 2011

"Dennis is Not More Likely to be a Dentist."

Yeah, but delightful theories are more likely to be believed.

27 comments:

traditionalguy said...

You have to watch out for that "spurious cohort" effect.

David said...

Not checked: The percentage of the dentists named Dennis who lisp.

Anonymous said...

Only a single data point, I know, but I've never been a pallbearer.

Lucien said...

Bring back Larry the Liquidator.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

I know a plumber named John.

Trooper York said...

What's the chances he could be a Menace?

Anonymous said...

All right, Mr. Smartypants, let's see you explain away Judge Sumi.

traditionalguy said...

And men named Mohammed are more likely to kill you.

PaulV said...

Stiff Funeral Home, Appomattox, VA is a fav.
Shaka Smart, BB coach at VCU grew up in Dane County, anyone up in Madison rooting for him? Pretty smart coach.

WV: faced common basketball term

William said...

How many people named Laurence grow up to either become lawyers or marry lawyers? Further study is needed in this area. Maybe the Dennis to dentist dynamic is flawed because no one in their childhood want to be dentists. One very really encounters a spinster named Mary.

Ann Althouse said...

"All right, Mr. Smartypants, let's see you explain away Judge Sumi."

Why'd she become a judge? Her name should be Decideme.

Ann Althouse said...

"How many people named Laurence grow up to either become lawyers or marry lawyers?"

And does the spelling "Lawrence" get more lawyers than if you use the "Laurence" spelling?

Wince said...

For a dentist, I would have checked the name Hermie.

If, for example, no one was ever named Jerry prior to 1989 but in 1990 the name skyrocketed to prominence following the appearance of Seinfeld then there would be no dentists named Jerry despite Jerry being a popular name in the 1990 census.

Obviously, the people at Marginal Revolution are anti-dentites.

vbspurs said...

Ann Althouse wrote:

Why'd she become a judge? Her name should be Decideme.

At least Judge Sumi chose the legal profession, which is ballpark.

My old gynaecologist was Dr Hyman. Nice man. Cold hands. My father had a medical partner who was a chap from Puerto Rico. Yep, Dr Colon -- proctologist.

Althouse, eh? Hmm. With that name, you easily could've been a construction worker specialising in redoing old homes. A female, platinum blonde Bob Vila.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Was Meade named after Laurence Olivier? Always wondered at the spelling. (I prefer it to Lawrence).

Ann Althouse said...

"Was Meade named after Laurence Olivier?"

No. He was named after a Methodist minister.

vbspurs said...

Fancy that; thanks.

wv: subcult (what this blog is)

Toad Trend said...

@Victoria

"My old gynaecologist was Dr Hyman. Nice man. Cold hands. My father had a medical partner who was a chap from Puerto Rico. Yep, Dr Colon -- proctologist."

TMI/LOL

Cold hands?

Yikes.

vbspurs said...

Not that unheard of in OB-GYNs, Don't Tread. ;(

You can feel the cold fingers through the rubber gloves...

jimspice said...

About what I expected from conservatives pondering statistics.

TMink said...

While that is true, it did not stop anyone from calling me 'Gay Trey" in high school.

NTTIAWWT.

Trey

ricpic said...

I would never go to a dentist named Moonbeam or Riverwind or Sunshine. Ya know, a hippy dentist. My dentist's name is Joan.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The gynecologist who delivered my daughter was named..........

Dr. Fillerup

:-D

Bob Ellison said...

The world will never have the joy of watching a wrestling match between Cardinal Law and Cardinal Sin.

I, however, have had the joy of hiring a veterinary orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Bone.

Bob Ellison said...

@Paul, I've never been a pallbearer either, but I do float.

Elliott A said...

@ricpic How about a dentist named Althouse? Me, in case you didn't know

Elliott A said...

There was a gynecologist in the NYC area in the 70s who was Dr. Hyman. And more interestingly (and truth is stranger than fiction) his first name was Buster.