In article .net,
algomeysa2 wrote:
"The risk you face of dying as a result of an asteroid impact is about 1 in
20,000, the same risk you face of dying in a plane crash. - Source:
Spaceguard Survey"

The fact that that's obviously a completely bogus statistic.....considering,
oh...... I can search the web and find many people who have died in plane
crashes, but, there's not one instance in recorded history of anyone dying
in an asteroid impact...... makes that rather suspect....

Depends on how long a period the number is averaged over. The chances of
dying from an asteroid impact tend to be dominated by extremely rare
events that kill a sizable fraction of the human race, so to check on that
statistic, you need a very long averaging period indeed -- recorded history
is much too short.

"Misleading" is a better word than "bogus".
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |