Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Measurement & Analysis of the Temporal Discrimination Threshold Applied to Cervical Dystonia
Published on: January 27, 2018
The Temporal Stage fallacy: A novel statistical fallacy in the medical literature
1Department of Philosophy, Washington State University, P O Box 645130, Pullman, WA 99164-5130, USA.
Abstract:
Celebrated for disproving the traditional view that lack of oxygen at birth (perinatal asphyxia) contributes significantly to cerebral palsy, a 1986 New England Journal of Medicine article by Karin Nelson and Jonas Ellenberg engineered a new consensus in the medical community: that lack of oxygen at birth rarely causes cerebral palsy. We demonstrate that the article's central argument relies on straightforwardly fallacious statistical reasoning, and we discuss significant implications--e.g. how carefully fetuses are monitored during labor and delivery, expert testimony in malpractice cases, and public policy decisions.
Related Concept Videos
Regression Toward the Mean
Statistical Inference Techniques in Hypothesis Testing: Parametric Versus Nonparametric Data
Parametric statistics, as the name suggests, assumes that data follow a specific distribution, often a normal distribution. This assumption enables robust hypothesis testing and estimation. Parametric methods, like the Student's t-test or Goodness-of-fit test, are frequently employed in biostatistics due to their robustness. For instance, comparing...
Kaplan-Meier Approach
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...
Introduction To Survival Analysis
The primary goal of survival analysis is to estimate survival time—the time until a...
Bias in Epidemiological Studies

