QUOTATION 88

AARON LEVENSTEIN ON UNSEEN STATISTICS

Use this to remind you to be suspicious of all statistics, especially those you want to be true.

Aaron Levenstein (1913–86) was an author and Professor of Business Administration at Baruch College. In one of his most memorable quotations he suggested that:

Statistics are like a bikini [or a pair of Speedos]. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.

Aaron Levenstein

Basically, he is saying that statistics can be used to confuse and mislead the reader. This was very evident in a national newspaper headline a few years ago that screamed, ‘Half of all schools in Britain are below average.’

WHAT TO DO

  • Don’t accept any set of statistics at face value. Find out how the data was collected and analysed and what alternative interpretations can be placed on it. This will mean talking to whoever prepared the figures. For regular routine reports, you’ll have to do this only once and then perhaps every year at a minimum to confirm that nothing has changed in how the data has been compiled. For one-off reports, you’ll need to do it every time.
  • By interrogating the data in this way, you will understand what the information provided actually means (see Quotation 55) and be able to assess just how much reliance you can place on it. Identify weaknesses in it and have ready-made answers for anyone who claims that you’ve ignored other interpretations of the data.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

  • Do I fully understand all the statistical and financial reports I receive? If not, who can I speak to about them?
  • Do I just accept the statistical and financial information I’m given or do I critically evaluate it?
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