The mass media aren’t a form of lie in themselves, but rather a vehicle that can proliferate the classic ones at blinding speed. As for Twain’s quote (which he attributed to Benjamin Disraeli), it falsely attributes the guilt to Math, when the greater culprits are the people who bend numbers to fit their agendas and general ignorance on the receiving end. This is why we teach more statistics in school. Those who speak the language are harder to fool with pretty numbers. Simply being aware of the basic sampling and reporting biases helps a lot. I teach Math for a living, and one of my favorite jokes to Stats students is that when you recognize Simpson’s Paradox, the data won’t make you say “D’oh!”
blunebottle over 7 years ago
Give Zack an “A”.
Tue Elung-Jensen over 7 years ago
Five, you also got commercials.
Carl Premium Member over 7 years ago
Nope, mass media stills uses the tried and true trio. They have nothing original. BTW newspapers (mass media) existed in the time of Twain.
The Legend of Brandon Sawyer over 7 years ago
True
LaRue Manning Premium Member over 7 years ago
Disraeli, not Twain
Seeker149 Premium Member over 7 years ago
The mass media aren’t a form of lie in themselves, but rather a vehicle that can proliferate the classic ones at blinding speed. As for Twain’s quote (which he attributed to Benjamin Disraeli), it falsely attributes the guilt to Math, when the greater culprits are the people who bend numbers to fit their agendas and general ignorance on the receiving end. This is why we teach more statistics in school. Those who speak the language are harder to fool with pretty numbers. Simply being aware of the basic sampling and reporting biases helps a lot. I teach Math for a living, and one of my favorite jokes to Stats students is that when you recognize Simpson’s Paradox, the data won’t make you say “D’oh!”