To the Editor
Library and Beyond of Sept. 7, 2023 challenged us to “write about our own principles, standards and values.” Fascinating idea. I chose ‘statistics’ as a subject. An old saying is: ‘there are lies, blankety blank lies and statistics.’
Truthful statistics with valid facts and complete data can be valuable. But incomplete date can sound good and actually say nothing. For example:
The ad claims ‘a diet pill was tested: two groups made no change in lifestyle. The group that took the diet pull lost 400% more weight than the other group.’
Sounds impressive. But why did the ‘other group’ lose weight? Maybe because 400% x 0 = 0 pounds, while 400% of 0.5 pounds  = 2 pounds.
I do value using statistics, but one must take the time to check if anything is missing in the data before being influenced by someone’s agenda.
For fun – I quote “…if all the people who go to sleep in church were laid end to end, they would be a lot more comfortable.” Mrs. Robert A. Taft.
Pat Gehring
Cottonwood