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About this quote

What does it mean?
Statistics can be twisted to mislead just as easily as deliberate lies or common falsehoods.
In plain terms
Numbers can be used to lie just like words.
What can you take from it?
Question statistics that support claims.

Where it applies

  • reading news reports
  • analyzing research
  • reviewing sales data

Putting it to work

  • verify data sources
  • check for bias
  • understand context

Questions to consider

  • How might numbers be manipulated to mislead?
  • What evidence convinces you a claim is true?

Another view

Accurate statistics remain powerful tools for understanding reality.

More from Benjamin Disraeli

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  2. There can be economy only where there is efficiency.

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  3. The very phrase 'foreign affairs' makes an Englishman convinced that I am about to treat of subjects with which he has no concern.

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