Reference: Haircuts shined shoes matter most in business, Bangkok Post, October 6, 2007

The article says that statistical analysis of the "Time use survey" data of a sample of 13000 individuals in the USA shows a statistically significant correlation between time spent on grooming and salary. It concludes that one can increase one's salary by simply increasing the time one spends on grooming. The analysis and the conclusions drawn from it are nonsensical. Survey data do not contain causality information. Also, on very large samples of this nature even small and materially insignificant correlations can be deemed to be statistically significant by virtue of sample size. Even if the correlation observed in the sample is a true reflection of the population it may mean that personality traits that cause higher salaries are also those that cause excessive grooming or even that those who earn more have more means and social motivation for grooming. The article's conclusion, that losers can simply groom themselves to success is itself a loser.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand