Some scientists are tea drinkers, others are coffee drinkers. Some scientists round out an evening with a pint of Guinness, while others opt for a lighter beer or a glass of wine instead. Love them or hate them, tea and Guinness are beverages that the science community are familiar with. Why is it then that so few scientists are aware of the impact of statistics on these two beverages?
I will address the barriers that have led to a poor uptake of rigorous statistics within much of the scientific community and follow this with a discussion of the significant difference that a cup of tea or a pint of Guinness could have on science if the statistics behind these household beverages became as iconic as the beverages themselves.