Harvard scientist Stephen Jay Gould survived a terminal cancer diagnosis for 20 years. After being told that his type of cancer had a "median mortality rate of eight months after diagnosis," Gould learned that his chance of survival was greatly increased because the frequency distribution of deaths from this disease was _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Gould's survival was greatly increased because the frequency distribution of deaths from his type of cancer was right-skewed. This means that while the median mortality rate was eight months, there was a long tail to the right of the distribution, indicating that a significant number of patients lived much longer than the median, thus providing hope for those like Gould who could potentially be in the long-survival tail end of the distribution.

Harvard Scientist Stephen Jay Gould Survived a Terminal Cancer Diagnosis