SOC 302 Chapter 6: Readings for Sociology #6: Telling the Truth about damned lies and statistics
Document Summary
Telling the truth about damned lies and statistics. Every year since 1950, the number of american children gunned down has doubled . The actual quote was the number of american children killed each year by guns has doubled since 1950 . People rarely ask questions when it comes to statistics, people tend to rely on them. Some statistics are born wrong because they are based on nothing more than guesses and dubious data. Bad statistics are important because they can be used to stir up public outrage and fear; they can distort our understanding of our world; they can lead us to make poor policy choices. There are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. Even though statistics may be always wrong, we depend upon them to summarize and clarify the nature of our complex society.
