Member-only story
Stats For A Better World
Sharp stats demand sharper minds
I love statistics. I marvel at how cold they are regardless of the sensitivity of the issue on which they shed light. Statistics are unsympathetic and unscrupulous, and sometimes that is exactly what we require. Conversely, there are numberless occasions on which sympathy and tact are equally necessary, and we would probably do well to keep our distance from merciless facts.
Undeniably, statistics is a discipline on the rise. Over the past few decades, technology has made data not only more accessible but much easier to assess in as many ways as we may imagine. Sport, gaming and social interactions are brimming with stats, and so are our health and habits as we invite apps and devices to monitor our day-to-day. This should be a positive aspect of the modern world, one I believe is only getting started. I envision a reality where I can tap the fridge for a summary of my nutrition and put my finger in a machine smaller than my kettle for a daily blood analysis while I grind my coffee beans.
If we know what we are looking for and how to approach the subject, statistics can give us invaluable information and allow us to live a better life. The problem is we are often unprepared to deal with the masses of data thrown at us. The following example might sound ridiculous to the discerning reader, but I…