Quiz #1.

A doctor is testing a new drug called Wonderpill that promises to cure a disease. Por that he administers the pill to a group of ill people and a placebo to another group of people with the same illness. He runs his test in the following manner: he selects two teams of doctors and nurses to administer the drugs and placebos and note the results.

Team 1.

In this group, the pill is given to 99 patients and the placebo to 63 patients.

The results are as follows: 45 of the 99 patients that received the drug showed improvement.  27 of the 63 patients who received the placebo showed improvement.

We see that 45/99 > 27/63. This shows the drug Wonderpill is effective.

Team 2.

In this group, the pill is given to 81 patients and the placebo to 126 patients.

The results are as follows: 54 of the 81 patients that received the drug showed improvement, while 81 of the 126 patients who received the placebo showed improvement.

We see that 54/81 > 81/126. This shows the drug Wonderpill is effective

The doctor responsible for the experiment puts all the results together:

Of a total of 180 patients who received the drug, 99 showed improvement; of the total of 189 patients who received the placebo, 108 showed improvement.

We see that 99/180 < 108/189. This shows drug Wonderpill to be worse than the placebo.

It is easy to show why the numbers are so.

The question however is:  is Wonderpill better or worse than the placebo?

Please send your comments.