How to Lie with Statistics is an important book especially now but always. Statistics have always been a horrible, horrible little lie from the start, being famous from the quote "There are three types of lies in the world. Lies, damned lies, and statistics." Statistics have a funny way of looking reliable when they are the opposite. It is impossible to get unbiased statistics. They have ways of always being biased, either by the sample size, the surveyor, and the way it's portrayed. It's a very annoying thing to see, too, because they can be used as the end all be all. Hiding smaller details, changing the portrayal and otherwise blindsiding how the public is supposed to view the chart is all very much things capable of statistics that do occur often and regularly, completely twisting how you will view information. It is often possible to use the same type of information and display it so differently that the viewer will have a completely different takeaway and still be completely accurate to the source.
It's why it's so important to view multiple sources especially now during such turmoil in the times. It is very likely information will be put out that is misleading for political goals, especially by those who have a large, private organization that can create their own information and not be fact-checked. If you can't find another source of information on the same topic, it is highly important to take that information with a large grain of salt, as with no competition for that information it can be edited and changed to the distributor's liking without actually "lying". Of course, statistics can be used to make even the most bold faced lies seem factual and correct, because almost any unrelated numbers can be slapped together and create a graph. The point is that no source of information will ever be infallible, no matter how good their intents are, and it is very rare to find anyone with good intent currently.
Make sure you're thinking critically, Adventure Van Out.
