β‘οΈ ππ€πππ ππππ£π₯π€ π₯π πππ€ππππ πππ ππ π π π‘ππ π‘ππ — Most of us struggle with making sense of numbers and data. Charts are the most common method of making numerical data understandable. Like all tools, they can be used for education just as well as for misinformation. Here’s a common example of how bar graphs can manipulate the viewer’s judgment.
β Key words:Β charts, statistics, misinformation, data
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π¬ “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” β Andrew Lang
π¬ “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.” β Mark Twain, who also said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics” — which he in turn attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, the British politician.
π¬ “Sanity is not statistical.” β George Orwell (1984)
π¬ “Miracles are statistical improbabilities. And fate is an illusion humanity uses to comfort itself in the dark. There are no absolutes in life, save death.” β Amie Kaufman
