>This data really is awful because the subjects aren't interested in reading difficult poetry.
If the results were the opposite, would the data still be awful?
If the results were the opposite, would the data still be awful?
If I use bad data to conclude that “Java is faster than C++ in most cases” you can be sure it will receive a lot more attention than if I reached the opposite conclusion based on similarly bad data.
[emphasis mine] You've inadvertently made the poster's point for them. You have written Spivak's "I knew it" reaction, just phrased more glibly.
Obviously this study is flawed and the results are garbage! But if the study had concluded the opposite then I knew it!