Statistics; love them or loathe them, we’re stuck with them. In fact, we lap them up and bandy them around every day in one way or another. Yet we can also be quick to dismiss them if they don’t fit a particular argument.
Statistics that don't help are almost as bad as no statistics
Many a wag through history has come up with a cutting and pithy dismissal of statistics or the people who produce and use them. Mark Twain comes most quickly to mind, having been attributed as saying: “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” (Yes, yes, an oldie – but a goodie)
Where on earth are we going with this? Well, last week saw the publication of the latest UK organic stats, by Defra. We trotted them out in our previous post because they were newly released and therefore newsworthy. That, however, is not to say we didn’t have a problem with them.
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