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How might statistics be manipulated to support a certain point of view?
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If a person knows that there is a 70% chance that an antibiotic would work on an infection, this information would drive that choice. If it was 10%, another choice may be looked for.
Statistics compile information that can be seen on paper. In economic planning, this can help a business decide if there is enough population to support a decision or if a targeted area is worth expanding.
Statistics can be used to support a course of action showing, say, how previous cases of something you are proposing was successful. However, reliance on statistics can backfire as many people will recall the saying that '... there are lies, damned lies and statistics' implying that one can 'prove anything with numbers'. So, the use of statistics to contributes to a case should, perhaps, be used as supporting evidence and qualified so as to ensure its 'fit' with the case in hand and not the primary evidence Beano GB