Lies, Damn Lies, And Statistics

In June 1882, Arthur James Balfour, first Earl of Balfour, was quoted in the Leeds Mercury as saying, “There are three kinds of falsehoods: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”

While this phrase is often interpreted to mean that statistics lie, that is not entirely correct.

Statistics represent, in a numerical manner, the interpretation of the data or information collected.

The interpretation of the data depends on how it is presented statistically

However, it is how the data collected is presented that can sometimes misrepresent or obfuscate the true meaning of the data. In other words, the interpretation of the data depends on how it is presented statistically.

Over the years, I have read many allegedly “scientific” research studies that came to erroneous or questionable conclusions simply because of the researcher’s assumptions or biased presentation of the data. Perhaps the most recent and egregious examples of this appear in journals and media discussions about human-caused climate change. Much of what passes for scientific inquiry these days comes from computer modeling, but the outcomes of such studies frequently yield inaccurate results because the researchers either used faulty data to begin with or they used false (i.e., incorrect) assumptions. The computer industry’s mantra – garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) – is still a valid statement.

During the three years of Biden’s presidency, Americans have been “lied to” in every manner imaginable. President Biden, along with his administrative minions, have outright lied and deceived American citizens more times than we can count. If lying was a virtue, Biden and his toadies have almost perfected the art.

Not everyone believes the lies coming from the Biden Administration

I say “almost” because not everyone believes the lies coming from the Biden Administration. There is an old saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes like this: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time”. Whether or not a person is fooled depends on how gullible or, conversely, how discerning or skeptical a person is.

Every day there are more and more revelations coming forth about the lies the public was told about the COVID vaccine when it was authorized for emergency use in the United States. It is turning out that the research the pharmaceutical companies were supposed to have done to prove the efficacy and safety of the vaccines was often “flawed.” Pfizer seems to have been the worst offender/bender of FDA rules, but pretty much none of the manufacturers have clean hands when it comes to either lying directly or otherwise deceiving the public about the safety of the vaccines.

Support Canada Free Press

Much of the deception in the case of the COVID vaccines was through withholding information or the use of distorted statistics

As a result of trying to cut corners and fast track the vaccine production and approval process, many people worldwide are now facing other serious, often long term, medical issues.

In my opinion, this is the result of greed, pure and simple, on the part of the vaccine manufacturers and billionaire investors like Bill Gates. By pushing the vaccine before its mechanisms of action were fully understood essentially caused end-users to be deceived. Deceiving someone by withholding important information is the same as lying, in my opinion. Much of the deception in the case of the COVID vaccines was through withholding information or the use of distorted statistics.

The average citizen is usually not an expert in statistical analysis, so if someone in authority or someone who has the initials M.D. or Ph.D. behind their name presents a statistical analysis, few people question their conclusions. I am not a statistical expert either, but I did take a couple statistics classes in graduate school. I learned two very important things in those classes: (1) the importance of knowing the number of subjects (N) involved in the research study and (2) the statistical methods chosen to represent the data collected.

Here is a very simple example of how statistics can be misleading

I also learned that the more variables present in a research study, the greater chance of error (i.e., inaccuracy) in the study’s findings. Most of us can recall the controversy that ensued over “the hockey stick” graph used in Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth.” There were an incredible number of variables that went into that research study, which was conducted by Michael Mann, an earth and climate change professor at the University of Pennsylvania. While Mann recently won a $1M defamation lawsuit against two right-wing authors who disputed his research conclusions, there are still many well-known scientists who continue to dispute Mann’s research conclusions.

Here is a very simple example of how statistics can be misleading. If you read a newspaper headline that states out-of-wedlock pregnancies for teenage girls, ages 13 – 18, in Montana have increased 100% in the last five years, your first thought might be, “Wow. That’s a really big increase in a short time.” Without more information, this headline could cause you to believe something that is not actually as bad as it sounds. If the number of teen girls, ages 13-18, who became pregnant was only 15 statewide in 2018, a 100% increase would be just 30 in 2023.

We are bombarded with misleading headlines every day as the media competes for readers or viewers

If there was a total of 200,000 teenage girls, ages 13-18, in Montana in 2018, 15 out of 200,000 is just .000075%. This is a very small percentage. Even if the number doubles in 2023, the actual percentage of teen girls, ages 13-18, who became pregnant remains rather insignificant overall (.00015%). The point I’m making is that you can’t just read a headline (or summary) about a research study and think you can draw an accurate conclusion.

We are bombarded with misleading headlines every day as the media competes for readers or viewers. It’s important to not just read the headline, but to also read the article or listen to the actual broadcast. We now live in a society where just about everyone has an agenda in what they write, say, or do. It is becoming harder and harder for the average person to distinguish fact from fiction, but if we citizens don’t learn to be more intentional and discerning in ferreting out The Truth, we will continue to be held hostage by the lies and deceptions perpetrated by the Biden Administration, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill Gates and George Soros of this world. My agenda in writing this commentary is to urge you to stop believing everything you read or are told, especially by the U.S. or Canadian governments, and do your own research to sift fact from fiction. There is too much at stake not to dig deeper.

VIEW Comments