There’s a joke I stole from the Internet, which you can find all over the place (here, here, and here). It is a humorous way of warning about the dangers of extrapolating beyond the range of the data. Let me share my version.
Two statisticians are on jet flying frm Miami to Seattle. They are chatting amiably about a variety of nerdy topics during the flight when they hear a loud
BAM!
The pilot comes on the intercom and says “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. One of our four engines just exploded. We’re fine and we’ll still get to Seattle, but instead of it being a three hour flight, it will now be a four hour flight.”
So the statisticians keep talking nerd talk when they hear another loud
BAM!
The pilot comes on the intercom and says “I’m sorry everybody, but a second engine just exploded. We will still get to Seattle, but it will now be a six hour flight. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
So the statisticians keep talking and you know what happens next. a third engine explodes with a loud
BAM!
The pilot comes on and says “No need to worry, people. We lost a third engine, but each engine on this plane is very powerful. We will still make it to Seattle, but it’s now going to be a ten hour flight.”
At this point, one statistician turns to the other and says, “Boy, I hope that last engine doesn’t explode…”
[Pause here for dramatic effect]
“…or we’ll be up here forever!”