Statistics make no sense

[Kors]

For some reason, some statistics like primitiveness (which is to show how "unscientifically advanced" you are) increases when answering issues that increase basket weaving and culture, not only if issues that decrease scientific advancement, and there are issues that decrease scientific advancement but do not decrease primitiveness. Another one is weather. It decreases when culture and scientific advancement is increased for some odd reason. Another is safety. Safety is not connected to any other stat, including death rate and crime to the extent it should be. Why is that?

[Jutsa]

I'm not 100% certain, myself, but regarding weather vs. culture, that's sort-of explained here: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=507254

I have no idea why primitiveness and scientific advancement are two separate stats, I'll be honest. You can, in fact (and I have multiple times) increase both in the same issue. *shrugs* (Also not entirely sure about scientific advancement and weather.)

Safety, on the other hand, is another story. You very much can have a crime-ridden nation that's still relatively safe, if the crimes involved don't harm anyone in any way, all while safety can be affected by a number of other conditions, such as workplace safety, low homicide rate, rigorous traffic laws and banning pointy knives. All that being said, regarding safety and death rate, I'm now genuinely curious if you can have a highly safe nation with a low lifespan.

Keep in mind these aren't the full story answers; editors, I imagine, would be far better equipped to give you a more detailed explanation. Still, I hope this is a sufficient quick overview of the matters. But when it comes down to it, the game's a simulation and doesn't necessarily always make total sense.

[Teffland]

I do not understand the measurement units and why some measurements can go into negative.e.g. You cannot have less than no agriculture in real life.

[The Unified Missourtama States]

I do not understand the measurement units and why some measurements can go into negative.e.g. You cannot have less than no agriculture in real life.

I think that negative rates in industries are when you have to take imports because you're so bad at producing what you need.

[The Unified Missourtama States]

You very much can have a crime-ridden nation that's still relatively safe, if the crimes involved don't harm anyone in any way, all while safety can be affected by a number of other conditions, such as workplace safety, low homicide rate, rigorous traffic laws and banning pointy knives. All that being said, regarding safety and death rate, I'm now genuinely curious if you can have a highly safe nation with a low lifespan.

Having low health could allow that, although I'm not sure of the correlation.

[Dexterra]

I totally understand where you and everybody else here are coming from on this. They say that the game is partly comedy, but I feel like that that doesn't mean it has to be unrealistic in any way because often times reality can be more comedic than anything else.

- Safety is a weird one because I have psychotic dictatorship where it has a highly funded law enforcement and defense force but it is about as safe as a bag of dirty needles. Funnily, it is also highly primitive. I think primitiveness might have a correlation with secularism too but I'm not sure.

- Negative rates in industries I think show the productivity of that industry, and if it's in the negatives, then it's a certain distance away from being able to be productive. So, for agriculture, being in the negatives means that your people are not only lacking in an agricultural sector, but a specific amount away from being able to create one. The land might be fallow or downright unsuitable for use, or they may not have the tools or funding necessary to take advantage of good soil. I hope that makes sense.

- Don't get me started on the weather-culture relationship!

I think, in general, the correlation between stats is unique to each user because no two nations in the game are ever exactly identical. Each nation starts out in its own way and then accumulates its own history of answer choices that will affect stats differently than other nations

[Bears Armed]

- Safety is a weird one because I have psychotic dictatorship where it has a highly funded law enforcement and defense force but it is about as safe as a bag of dirty needles.

That's presumably because people there aren't safe from the government...

[Dexterra]

- Safety is a weird one because I have psychotic dictatorship where it has a highly funded law enforcement and defense force but it is about as safe as a bag of dirty needles.

That's presumably because people there aren't safe from the government...

Right. And they aren't really safe from disasters, acts of God or each other either. In my experience, safety seems to be distantly related to almost all other stats, weird as it sounds

[Kors]

I'm not 100% certain, myself, but regarding weather vs. culture, that's sort-of explained here: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=507254

I have no idea why primitiveness and scientific advancement are two separate stats, I'll be honest. You can, in fact (and I have multiple times) increase both in the same issue. *shrugs* (Also not entirely sure about scientific advancement and weather.)

Safety, on the other hand, is another story. You very much can have a crime-ridden nation that's still relatively safe, if the crimes involved don't harm anyone in any way, all while safety can be affected by a number of other conditions, such as workplace safety, low homicide rate, rigorous traffic laws and banning pointy knives. All that being said, regarding safety and death rate, I'm now genuinely curious if you can have a highly safe nation with a low lifespan.

Keep in mind these aren't the full story answers; editors, I imagine, would be far better equipped to give you a more detailed explanation. Still, I hope this is a sufficient quick overview of the matters. But when it comes down to it, the game's a simulation and doesn't necessarily always make total sense.

Thanks. I know now. It might be that primitiveness is representing society's progression and scientific advancement is representing technological advancement.

[Merconitonitopia]

For some reason, some statistics like primitiveness (which is to show how "unscientifically advanced" you are) increases when answering issues that increase basket weaving and culture, not only if issues that decrease scientific advancement, and there are issues that decrease scientific advancement but do not decrease primitiveness.

The game never states that primitiveness is a mirror of scientific advancement. Primitiveness moreso represents the mentality and culture of the nation.

Another one is weather. It decreases when culture and scientific advancement is increased for some odd reason.

Weather is an odd stat. The best explanation I've seen is that weather tends to increase from options that encourage people to go outdoors, decrease from options that encourage people staying indoors. Hence why reading Harry Potter makes the weather worse. (I heard this from Rocain Founder.) Cultured activities usually involve being indoors. Because of NS logic, the causality is reversed
I will note that it's entirely possible to have very high weather and culture simultaneously, or vice versa. The antagonism between weather and culture isn't a hard rule.

Another is safety. Safety is not connected to any other stat, including death rate and crime to the extent it should be. Why is that?

I agree that safety is a wonky stat. My nation has a long life expectancy and health, no crime; yet safety is through the floor. Granted, my government is hopelessly crooked.


While we're on the topic of questioning stats, I'd like to bring up pacifism.
Case study: Deep South Borland. Ranked second for pacifism. Known for such peaceful practices as: theocracy, feudalism, capital punishment, corporal punishment, human sacrifice, and slavery.

[Drew Durrnil]

For some reason, some statistics like primitiveness (which is to show how "unscientifically advanced" you are) increases when answering issues that increase basket weaving and culture, not only if issues that decrease scientific advancement, and there are issues that decrease scientific advancement but do not decrease primitiveness.

The game never states that primitiveness is a mirror of scientific advancement. Primitiveness moreso represents the mentality and culture of the nation.

Another one is weather. It decreases when culture and scientific advancement is increased for some odd reason.

Weather is an odd stat. The best explanation I've seen is that weather tends to increase from options that encourage people to go outdoors, decrease from options that encourage people staying indoors. Hence why reading Harry Potter makes the weather worse. (I heard this from Rocain Founder.) Cultured activities usually involve being indoors. Because of NS logic, the causality is reversed
I will note that it's entirely possible to have very high weather and culture simultaneously, or vice versa. The antagonism between weather and culture isn't a hard rule.

Another is safety. Safety is not connected to any other stat, including death rate and crime to the extent it should be. Why is that?

I agree that safety is a wonky stat. My nation has a long life expectancy and health, no crime; yet safety is through the floor. Granted, my government is hopelessly crooked.


While we're on the topic of questioning stats, I'd like to bring up pacifism.
Case study: Deep South Borland. Ranked second for pacifism. Known for such peaceful practices as: theocracy, feudalism, capital punishment, corporal punishment, human sacrifice, and slavery.

I'm pretty sure pacifism means "war is bad" in this context.

[Kors]

My nation has a long life expectancy and health, no crime; yet safety is through the floor. Granted, my government is hopelessly crooked..

I think it's your black market and corruption carrying your dangerousness. Also sacrifice kills alot and deems your nation unsafe.

[Neo-Western East Korea]

I don't know why my people have so much cancer, i've been trying to get disappearance up but it's always cancer, even though I funded public healthcare recently

[Dabarastan]

I don't know why my people have so much cancer, i've been trying to get disappearance up but it's always cancer, even though I funded public healthcare recently

The high cancer rate is probably in part due to all of the mining in your nation. If you're not prepared to stifle your mining industry, try boosting your health in other ways. If you want your disappearance rate to go up, I'd start by keeping your civil rights low and your (secret) police well-funded.

[Neo-Western East Korea]

Ah, thank you, will get to funding the secret police

[Merconitonitopia]

I'm pretty sure pacifism means "war is bad" in this context.

Not so.
https://www.nationstates.net/nation=mal ... ensusid=46
https://www.nationstates.net/nation=mal ... ensusid=47
This nation hasn't even had a military in years and pacifism is through the floor. Issue options that have nothing to do with foreign policy will affect pacifism.

[Dexterra]

I'm pretty sure pacifism means "war is bad" in this context.

Not so.
https://www.nationstates.net/nation=mal ... ensusid=46
https://www.nationstates.net/nation=mal ... ensusid=47
This nation hasn't even had a military in years and pacifism is through the floor. Issue options that have nothing to do with foreign policy will affect pacifism.

I've found pacifism to be highly correlated with education, average income(s), niceness, compassion and cheerfulness. There's definitely a lot more that goes into pacifism than foreign policy, the military and especially law enforcement