As a statistician, perhaps the most useful feature of statistical thinking is an explicit rejection of point estimate. Always, always, always, give an interval estimate, or a five point summary if you have that. This was the one lesson that was drilled into me repeatedly.
Ofcourse, you head out into the real world & it is full of point estimates! The article gives a very good example of real-world statistical illiteracy - "If the gas mileage of a car is 40 miles per gallon, and I drive 20 miles, I will have used half a gallon of gas". While I'm sure that the HN audience prides itself on statistical literacy, they will certainly have trouble coming up with a good interval estimate for that scenario.
Ofcourse, you head out into the real world & it is full of point estimates! The article gives a very good example of real-world statistical illiteracy - "If the gas mileage of a car is 40 miles per gallon, and I drive 20 miles, I will have used half a gallon of gas". While I'm sure that the HN audience prides itself on statistical literacy, they will certainly have trouble coming up with a good interval estimate for that scenario.