Changes

'''"Cherry picking"''' is the practice of collecting data which supports your point while systematically ignoring all contradictory data(cf. [[Damning the Alternatives]]). This is a blatant violation of the [[scientific method]] and among scientists is generally considered to be unethical (see [[scientific misconduct]] and [[advocacy science]]). ==Notable Examples==A political example occurred in the 1990s, when the "[[black church burning epidemic]]" captured headlines:* The CDR had systematically ignored fires set by blacks and those that occurred in the early part of the decade; it had also labeled some fires as arson that clearly were not — all in an apparent effort to make black church torchings appear to be an escalating phenomenon.<ref> [http://fumento.com/arson/cleveland.html Bestselling author Michael Fumento reports: "USA Today&#146;s Arson Artistry."]</ref> Even science journals have been fooled:* Consider a report by three environmentalist authors back in 1998 in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzing male-female birth ratios between 1970 and 1990. The authors found male births declining, and predictably blamed man-made chemicals. Yet public data going back to 1940 showed gender ratios are always changing, for no obvious reason. Years that disproved their thesis were simply sliced out.<ref> [http://fumento.com/media/medjournals.html Michael Fumento: Science Journals Delivering "Political Science"]</ref> [[File:Hurricane.png|thumb|right|Hurricanes are becoming less frequent]]Here is statement widely used to promote the idea that [[global warming]] makes strong hurricanes more frequent:* "... over the past 35 years ... A large increase was seen in the number and proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 and 5." [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16166514?dopt=Abstract]Here is the rebuttal:* "... not a trend. Rather, it is likely a part of the large interdecadal variations in the number of intense typhoons related to similar temporal fluctuations in the atmospheric environment." [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16556825]==See also==*[[Cafeteria Christianity]] for cherry picking in a religious context*[[Confirmation bias]]*[[Damning the Alternatives]]*[[Fraud]]*[[Half-truth]]*[[Nutpicking]]*[[Wishful thinking]] ==Notes==<references /> ==External links==*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_picking_(fallacy)#In_science "Cherry Picking in Science"] - at Wikipedia