Startling statistics do shape our thinking about social issues. But all too often these numbers are wrong. Spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers is essential for everyone who relies on statistical information to understand social problems.
Unfortunately, most people either naively accept the statistics we hear or cynically assume that all numbers are meaningless. There is an alternative approach to these numbers and few people employ it -- The Critical.
Being critical does not mean being negative or hostile -- it is not cynicism. The critical approach to statistics is thoughful; it avoids the extremes of both naive acceptance and cynical rejection of the numbers. Instead, being critical means to evaluate numbers, to distinguish between good statistics and bad statistics.
Lastly, statistics are not magical. Nor are they always true -- or always false. Nor need they be incomprehensible. The critical approach to statistics offers an effective way of responding to the numbers we are sure to encounter in the media and from politicians and activists. Being critical requires more thought, but failing to adopt a critical mind-set makes us powerless to evaluate what others tell us.
When we fail to think critically, the statistics we hear might just as well be magical.
