--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the use of P [the significance…" description: "\"What the use of P [the significance level] implies, therefore, is that a hypothesis that may be true may be rejected because it has not predicted obser..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/harold-jeffreys-47480_being-true_what-the-use-of-p-the-significance-level_1333387.jpg" --- # What the use of P \[the significance level\] implies… ![“What the use of P [the significance level] implies, therefore, is that a hypothesis that may be true may be rejected because it has not predicted observable results that have not occurred.” quote by Harold Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/harold-jeffreys-47480_being-true_what-the-use-of-p-the-significance-level_1333387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/harold-jeffreys-47480_being-true_what-the-use-of-p-the-significance-level_1333387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/harold-jeffreys-47480_being-true_what-the-use-of-p-the-significance-level_1333387.jpg) > “What the use of P \[the significance level\] implies, therefore, is that a hypothesis that may be true may be rejected because it has not predicted observable results that have not occurred.” [Harold Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-jeffreys/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Statistical significance can cause a true hypothesis to be rejected if data are missing or not observed. **In simple terms:** A true idea may be dismissed due to lack of data. Key Takeaway Beware of over‑reliance on p‑values. Themes statistics uncertainty methodology Mood cautious analytical Type scientific methodological When to use this quote - research design - clinical trials - policy analysis Key Concepts significance testing type I error data scarcity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance statistical rigor with practical relevance? - When should you trust intuition over a p‑value? 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