Survivorship Bias Airplane Damage Unisex T-shirt

A LITTLE GRIM BUT FUNNY

People are likely to honor your courage and perseverance, which we're certain is well-earned, so just roll with it. 

It's hard to beat a black tee, but take a look at army green. It also seems appropriate given it was the Army Air Force in Abraham Wald's day. (Who?) 

Give the gift of data humor to your favorite statisticians, data scientists, quality improvement experts, operational excellence peeps, and six sigma black and green belts. 

Poking fun at survivorship bias.

#IYKYK

Data insiders, this might be your most #IYKYK design yet. 

If you don’t know, survivorship bias is the erroneous focus on occurrences that passed a selection test and skipping over occurrences that failed. This aircraft image is the most commonly referenced illustration of survivorship bias.

Contra his colleagues, WWII Statistician Abraham Wald concluded that the areas showing the most damage on surviving aircraft didn’t need armor. “The bullet holes in the returning aircraft represented areas where a bomber could take damage and still fly well enough to return to base.”

Conversely, they could infer the location of greatest need based on the areas the survivors weren’t hit. Seems pretty obvious in retrospect. But what doesn't?

OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY TO QI CURIOSITIES CUSTOMERS

LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Here at QI Curiosities, buying in small batches pays! Get an escalating discount when you buy multiple shirts in any combination, not just this gem. Buy 3-4 and get 15% off. Buy 5 and get 20% off. Buy 6+ and get 25% off.

Our comfy t-shirts are soft and lightweight with the right amount of stretch. Look for the QI Curiosities logo on back. 

Product Specs:
• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz./yd.² (142 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Blank product sourced from Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, or the US

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

Size guide

Illustration of hypothetical damage pattern on a WW2 bomber to demonstrate survivorship bias. Based on a not-illustrated report by Abraham Wald (1943), picture concept by Cameron Moll (2005, claimed on Twitter and credited by Mother Jones), new version by McGeddon based on a Lockheed PV-1 Ventura drawing (2016), vector file by Martin Grandjean (2021).