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, ethicalscientists and statisticians may flame me.... RH
It is a general belief that "statistics can prove anything." This statement is partly true and false. It is false because mere statistics should not be taken for granted without proper verification. It is true because statistics is often used by unscrupulous people to achieve their personal ends. This results in loss of faith or confidence on statistics or in causing distrust of statistics. Distrust of statistics literally means lack of trust in statistical data, statistical analysis and the conclusions derived from it. We often hear statements like. (i). Statistics is an unreliable science (ii). Statistics are lies of the first order. (iii). There are three type of lies-lies, damned lies and statistics. (iv). Figures do not lie, liars figure. These are expressions of distrust in statistics. These views of statistics stem from the misuse of statistics by the interested parties.Publicity, advertisers of various products, Governments and other organizations are trying to promote their sectional interest using statistics and statistical methods. This causes distrust of statistics. Some of the important reasons of distrust in statistics are the following: (a) Facts based on figures are more convincing. But these figures can be manipulated according to one's wishes. This misguides public causing distrust in statistics. (b) Sometimes statistical analyses are misinterpreted causing distrust in statistics. Supposing the mortality rates of patients are more in Indian hospitals. From this one may wrongly conclude that it is safer to treat the patients at home. This type of misinterpretation also causes distrust in statistics. Statistics are useful tools. One uses them according to his knowledge and experience. Use of statistics makes a statement more convincing. But its misuse causes distrust. So it is necessary that people should be adequately prepared to know the reality or to shift the truth from untruth, good statistics from bad statistics. WI. King has rightly observed "statistics are like clay of which you can make a 'God' or a 'Devil' as you please."
The two main branches of statistics is Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
statistics
father of statistics
Answer The actual quote is "There are three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics." It is usually attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1874 to 1880. The American writer, Mark Twain, quoted it, as attributed to Disraeli, in his autobiography.
Ststistics? In General? Well there is no such thing as statistics in general because the general is a position in the military.
Erin Weir has written: 'Lies, damned lies, and trade statistics' -- subject(s): Foreign economic relations, Exports, Statistics, Economic integration
Lies or damned lies! These would be statistics which are faulty or presented in a misleading way (deliberately or accidentally). Such statistics could arise in a number of ways:the experimental model was flawed,there were errors in measurement or recording,the sample was biased,correlation was interpreted as causation,poor graph design - scales, pictograms using improper dimensions,
Statistics can be used to support a course of action showing, say, how previous cases of something you are proposing was successful. However, reliance on statistics can backfire as many people will recall the saying that '... there are lies, damned lies and statistics' implying that one can 'prove anything with numbers'. So, the use of statistics to contributes to a case should, perhaps, be used as supporting evidence and qualified so as to ensure its 'fit' with the case in hand and not the primary evidence Beano GB
Rolf Harris This expression is not an idiom.
The world is littered with statistics, and the average person is bombarded with five statistics a day1. Statistics can be misleading and sometimes deliberately distorting. There are three kinds of commonly recognised untruths: "Lies, damn lies and statistics." - Mark Twain
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, ethicalscientists and statisticians may flame me.... RH
It is a general belief that "statistics can prove anything." This statement is partly true and false. It is false because mere statistics should not be taken for granted without proper verification. It is true because statistics is often used by unscrupulous people to achieve their personal ends. This results in loss of faith or confidence on statistics or in causing distrust of statistics. Distrust of statistics literally means lack of trust in statistical data, statistical analysis and the conclusions derived from it. We often hear statements like. (i). Statistics is an unreliable science (ii). Statistics are lies of the first order. (iii). There are three type of lies-lies, damned lies and statistics. (iv). Figures do not lie, liars figure. These are expressions of distrust in statistics. These views of statistics stem from the misuse of statistics by the interested parties.Publicity, advertisers of various products, Governments and other organizations are trying to promote their sectional interest using statistics and statistical methods. This causes distrust of statistics. Some of the important reasons of distrust in statistics are the following: (a) Facts based on figures are more convincing. But these figures can be manipulated according to one's wishes. This misguides public causing distrust in statistics. (b) Sometimes statistical analyses are misinterpreted causing distrust in statistics. Supposing the mortality rates of patients are more in Indian hospitals. From this one may wrongly conclude that it is safer to treat the patients at home. This type of misinterpretation also causes distrust in statistics. Statistics are useful tools. One uses them according to his knowledge and experience. Use of statistics makes a statement more convincing. But its misuse causes distrust. So it is necessary that people should be adequately prepared to know the reality or to shift the truth from untruth, good statistics from bad statistics. WI. King has rightly observed "statistics are like clay of which you can make a 'God' or a 'Devil' as you please."
Matthew B. Robinson has written: 'Justice Blind? Ideals and Realities of American Criminal Justice' 'Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics' -- subject(s): Statistics, Drug control, Drug abuse, United States, Government policy, United States. Office of National Drug Control Policy 'Why crime?' -- subject(s): Criminology, Antisocial personality disorders, Criminal behavior, Criminal psychology, Deviant behavior, System theory
There are only three types of lies. True lies. White lies and Statistics.
Damned Damned Damned was created in 1919-09.