Telling the Truth Summary PDF

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Assignment on telling the truth article, statistics...

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“Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics” by Joel Best Haileigh Streator The author, Joel Best, made clear in the essay “Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics” that society is not so knowledgeable in math. He writes that statistics are often accepted just as they are without any critical analysis. When a regular person is shown a bunch of appealing graphs and numbers, they would believe whatever was on it. He does a great job of explaining the misuse of statistics and how they can be used to get ahead, or even manipulate and brainwash. The article can be summarized best by this quote, “when we fail to think critically , the statistics we hear just as well be magical” (pg. 56) Claims backed up by numbers are often looked at as facts and accepted without hesitation. Joel explains that statistics aren’t magic and that they’ve derived from something. Whether it’s evidence, misinterpretation or manipulation, we have to approach with skepticism and cautiousness to determine its truth. The importance of a statistic is the time, credibility and knowledge. The information that goes into it must be factual and not an opinion, coming from a credible source. Bad statistics can distort our understanding and judgement. When statistics are flawed, they lose their credibility. Which adds to the reasons we must become more judgemental of the numbers and graphs and information we are presented. Joel proposes a basic checklist but to overall approach critically. The critical thinking approach he proposes is to determine validity. When shown a statistic the reader should ask themselves if it sounds reasonable, and always check for information to back it up. Instead of assuming all statistics are bad or false we should become better judges of the numbers we see. Afterall, we need statistics to talk rationally about societal issues....