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What does the quote there are lies damned lies and then there's statistics mean?

Answer:

The quote has been attributed to mark Twain and also to Benjamin Disraeli; I'll have to check references...

What it means in a nutshell is that statistics can be used to manipulate the truth in any way the person crunching the numbers sees fit...the damnable part of it is that on the surface, the "fact" will appear to be truthful "based on the statistics"...other related quotes, or more appropriately, colloquialisms, are "the numbers don't quite add up", "statistically speaking, that may be true", and my favorite political rejoinder, "the statistics clearly show...". statistics show NOTHING except what the person crunching the numbers WANTS them to show. Period.

Now all the legitimate, ethical scientists and statisticians may flame me....

RH

First answer by ID3477285922. Last edit by ID3477285922. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].

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