Misuse of Statistics Free Essay Example

Statistics can be very helpful in providing a powerful interpretation of reality but can also be used to distort our understanding. Discuss some of the ways in which statistics can be used or misused in different areas of knowledge to assist and mislead us, and how can we determine whether to accept the statistical evidence that is presented to us. These days statistics are used everywhere. Whether it is in politics, economics, sciences or as pure mathematical discipline, much data is presented in the form of statistics.

Statistics can offer a great and precise tool to interpret reality, but they are also easy to manipulate and push into certain outcomes. As already Winston churchill said “the only statistics you can trust are those you falsified yourself”. Although it is not possible to falsify statistics in the pure mathematical form, where statistics can only be wrong calculated or based on wrong data, in many other parts statistics can be falsified to come to certain results.

One of the main problem with statistics is that they can be mathematically correct but still don’t represent the reality. This can easily happen when average values are calculated. For example a firm is employing six workers. Three of them earn 2000$ per month and 3 of them earn 4000$ per month. So the average wage in that firm is 3000$ per month. This sounds quite reasonable. Another firm has six workers as well. Five of them earn nothing, while one earns 18000$ per month. The average wage in the firm is still 3000$ per worker each month.

Although this is of course an extreme case, that does not sound as reasonable. This example is mathematically absolutely correct, but its still not representing reality at all. If there is a enormously rich small upper class but the rest of the population is poor the average person in a statistic would be quite good off although in fact the majority is not. If u stand in two buckets the one filled with very hot water the other one filled with very cold water u stand statistically in warm water in reality your ready for hospital.

This shows how for example in politics a statistic can be misused, using the example of the very rich but small upper class and the very poor rest. Politicians in this country could create statistics, that are actually right, that would show, that the average person in this society is quite good off, although in fact they are not. Another way to calculate a average value is the so called median. The method is quite simple. You just need to write up all numbers in increasing values.

For example 5-6-7. So the median here is 6. However if the numbers are 3-7-80 the median would only be 7 although the average would already be 30. This method gives much space for misuse. These examples show one of the difficulties with statistics, but there are many more. A classic error done in statistics is that people conclude from a correlation between two events to a causality (one controlling the other). Say A and B often occur together and one concludes that then A causes B.

Or in a more concrete example ‘Men with less scalp hair earn more money’. The creator of this statistic observed two things that often occur together and concluded that one therefor causes the other. In fact there is only a third factor that makes men with less scalp hair earn more money which is simply that their older and had more time to make career. This is a common mistake in sciences for example when the scientist observes to phenomena that occur together and then jumps to the wrong conclusion one would cause the other.

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