“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments, “one of the best, and best-known” critiques of applied statistics.[2] It is also sometimes colloquially used to doubt statistics used to prove an opponent’s point.
from wikipedia, which leads me to my question:
what is this critique?
In: 0
I have 1 apple. Someone gives me 1 more apple. My amount of apples has increased by **100%**! That’s huge! I have so many more apples now! 100% more, wow!
…except it’s only 1 more apple. Just 1. But presenting “just 1 more apple” as a *percentage* makes it *seem* like a much bigger change. I have used statistics to “lie” to you so that I could change the way you perceive the situation.
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