Quick!
Get him a job at Number 11. He seems ideal!
A top Florida fish boffin says that the global recession is causing a massive decrease in the number of shark attacks. George Burgess, Florida Uni ichthyologist, is fortunate enough to be Director of the International Shark Attack File, so he would know. Apparently shark assaults in 2008 numbered just 59, down from 71 in 2007 …
.... is the reduction in the number of estate agents removing themselves from the genepool by wrapping their Porsches around trees. As with the last downturn, most of these equivcators-of-the-turth have been forced to hand back their leased flashmobiles and trundle around in much safer diesel Golfs or A3s, unfortuanely allowing them the chance of breeding with some equally befuddled member fo the opposite sex.
If the downturn makes people go less to the beach, it should automatically result in less accidents in the water (shark-based or other).
Just read what the person said.
Correlation does not equal causation, especially not causation in a direction that makes no sense at all.
There should be a two thumbs down button.
How on earth can they predict economic bubbles, if the reason people are not going on holiday is actually due to a recession in the first place!?
Surely then, they can just confirm an economic slump rather than predict it!
Maybe El Gordo the Clown will use this to prove he actually did save the world...
12/71 is not big enough a margin to be "sure" about the trend.
maybe he is right.. but did he jump the gun in creating sharkonomics too soon ?
What about affects of global warming ?
What about effect of animal planet where they've created some sort of awareness in people about shark atttacks. (eg timings; seasons and shape of surfing boards.. ie what if people are getting a little smarter after all) ?
Paris, coz she can be a maneater.
The way the day has been going for me this is just the kind of light news I need to keep me going through the rest of it. Nice work Lewis, in these days anything to lighten the mood surrounding all of our economic woes is welcome by me. Please report to the nearest bar for a drink on me :-).
bear with me kids (especially those who want causation, I'm all over it)
1 sharks eat a small number of people
2 economy improves
hence 3: sharks must be eating those responsible
hence 4: sharks can somehow tell who's responsible
expect McFall to conduct sub-aquatic treasury select committee next week. I'm off to spend the w/e fishing the little snitches out of the water before they can dish it up.
/week