
Statistics For Programmers VI: Omitted Variable Bias - semmons
http://lovehateubuntu.blogspot.com/2010/04/statistics-for-programmers-vi-omitted.html
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klochner
The post should have mentioned selection bias, specifically self-selection
bias:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-selection>

which leads to some relevant literature:

<http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p362803_index.html>

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emmett
This post uses a terrible example. His hidden variable is programmer skill,
and he assumes that high skill programmers prefer to work at agile companies
over waterfall companies. Therefore, he claims, agile is not really more
productive than waterfall.

But that's silly; if using an agile methodology is what attracted the high
skill programmers, that's why you're more productive! Changes that attract
high skill programmers - even if that's all they do - are the most
productivity-enhancing changes you can make.

