Being this mathematically ignorant should disqualify one from the Senate [View all]

[dsc]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/tom-coburn-tornado-relief_n_3324948.html

The tornado that struck Moore, Okla., this week, killing at least 24, is estimated to have left more than $2 billion of damage in its path.

When asked if he thought the government should take steps to mandate tornado shelters in the aftermath of the storm, Coburn rejected the idea by using a classic statistical fallacy.

"If you're living in that area of Moore in Oklahoma, the likelihood of being hit by another tornado is about zero in terms of odds," he said.

MSNBC's Brian Shactman attempted to correct Coburn, but the senator dug in.

"The odds weren't the same, that's completely wrong," he said. "If you've had two tornadoes in 14 years, and then you're saying the odds of that is the same going forward, that's not right at all. You need to check your statistics class."

Senator Coburn makes a mistake that even a well educated 8th grader wouldn't make and then tells the interviewer to take a stats class. Again, this should be enough to get him thrown out of the Senate as any other person who showed they didn't have an 8th grader's knowledge of the world.