Audio of my Chosen Interview
Spiegelhalter-AG-Part 1 of 2-Sep 15, 2022 at 14_31_58.mp3
The most surprising piece of information that I learned was that it used to be a commonly held belief that people tended to die in multiples of seven. Reading this now, my reaction is one of shock and disbelief as to how something as ludicrous and unfounded scientifically as this theory could be widely accepted. In fact, however, I am reminded of other beliefs that I now perceive as odd that were commonly believed at the respective time of their popularity. This phenomenon is apparent with many predictive systems we have discussed in class. This concept begs the question of what commonly held beliefs now will be thought to have been ludicrous some time in the future.
I would have asked for my interviewee to expand further on the connection between the belief of the unlucky ages (multiples of seven) and the life insurance aspect. This would shed additional light on whether this multiples of seven theory was truly believed or whether it somehow corresponded to an alternate agenda.