I've been through college level statistics classes. Nothing I learned in them suggested that holding currency for less than a year was an appropriate measure of savings.

You're complaining that Bitcoin hasn't been around long enough to make a proper measure of its performance. Then you complain that people who gave control of their coins to Mt Gox didn't get their coins back.

I don't understand what these complaints have to do with the fact that Bitcoin has been a fantastic savings vehicle for five years running. (Or four if you prefer)

I don't deny its performance, and I'm actually quite bullish on it. I just think 365-665 days is a fairly arbitrary number, and a lifetime of 4-5 years is not enough to draw conclusions from.