To begin with, the main focus of Joel Best’s article is on recognizing legitimate statistics and further averting unreliable ones. To be more exact, the author bases the information so that the average person can easily understand and analyze the statistics they might see in a magazine or a newspaper. In other words, the article expresses the main criteria as to which to evaluate the statistics and conclude whether the facts and outcomes derived from it are bound to be truthful or not.
As stated, Joel Best focuses on the significance of proper data perception in the modern world. For instance, the author mentions that statistics might get inaccurate due to changing measures, aspects, criteria, and even projections (Best, 2001). Still, he claims that some information is displayed in a wrong way from the start, “they aren’t much good from the start, because they are based on nothing more than guesses or dubious data” (Best, 2001, p. 2). However, Best emphasizes that society still needs even alarming statistics to understand a specific situation or problem, “we depend upon them to summarize and clarify the nature of our complex society” (Best, 2001, p. 2). By and whole, it is challenging to determine whether statistics are true or false, reliable or incomprehensible due to changing factors of their analysis and perception.
Overall, it is also crucial to compare the data similar to each other and not utterly distinct, like ethnicities or religions. Otherwise, the drawn conclusions will likely be unreliable; however, they will still be crucial for society to analyze in order to clarify the data in general to generate personal thoughts and ideas based on them. In addition, it is vital to employ a critical approach while reading the numbers from the graphs to further implement the data for one’s own benefit.
Reference
Best, J. (2001). Telling the truth about damned lies and statistics. The Chronicle of Higher Education.