Typically, statistics are abused by poloticians/partisan hacks who take data from reliable sources and lie/spin it to their narrative. The thing is, the average Fox News viewer with a HS diploma isn’t going to dig any deeper. And I wouldn’t say they trust their gut… they trust the propaganda narrative.
Comment on Cathy, do the math.
cynar@lemmy.world 1 week agoPart of the problem is that statistics can be abused. It takes a reasonable amount of training to be able to differentiate between reliable statistics and potentially dodgy. Even worse, we are often presented with them, striped or context.
The best solution is to teach people how to both spot problems and seek reliable data. The proper meaning of “do your own research”. Unfortunately, a significant chunk just give up with them and only trust their gut.
freddydunningkruger@lemmy.world 1 week ago
oo1@lemmings.world 1 week ago
I dont know, when most people were children they might believe their parents like that. Some of them grow up and develop minds of their own and critical thinking but others seem not to. Maybe it gets harder to grow up, the longer you spend as a child.
Or maybe you’re right and it’s an intrinsic part of human diversity - maybe the tribe has always needed some sheeple - so our genes might always create some.
ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 1 week ago
They can be abused, by people who understand statistics talking to people who don’t understand statistics. This is a good reason to learn statistical methods rather than reject them.
cynar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
There are levels of abuse, some blatant, some subtle. Leading questions are obvious, when you have the question asked. Publishing bias is difficult to spot, even for trained scientists looking for it.
Learning about statistical methods isn’t enough. People need to be taught how to weigh the data presented against the value of misleading them.
It’s a subsection of logical reasoning, and needs to be taught as part of an integrated whole.
TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
I think statistically (pun intended) there are more problems with people ignoring statistics or plain lying, than statistics being abused
oo1@lemmings.world 1 week ago
A bit of healthy scientific skepticism or logical reasoning with some skills to evaluate sources of evidence and biases help with both understanding quoted stats, and liars and the ill-informed.
It’s a difficult and time consuming skill to learn and use though.
cynar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Even a small amount of statistic abuse will break blind trust in them. Once that trust is gone, some people will reject all of them, rather than try and differentiate.
Low grade abuse of statistics and related methods is rampant in low grade media.