From the other side of the consultation, briefly. The distinction that resolves most of these threads is between what is true on average and what is true for one person. Both are real; they answer different questions and get quoted as if they were the same one.

bri_stats said:

If you are going to change something, change one thing and give it long enough to express itself.

Agreed, and the size of the effect matters as much as its existence. Something real and small gets treated here as though it were real and decisive.

bri_stats said:

If you are going to change something, change one thing and give it long enough to express itself.

This answered a question I did not know how to ask. Printing the relevant bit and taking it with me.

Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads. Start from the measurement rather than the conclusion. Almost every disagreement here turns out to be two people measuring different things and comparing the numbers anyway.

Moderator note: leaving this open. It is being argued well and the disagreement is the useful part. Report rather than reply if it drifts again.