Quote of the Day

In schools, data skills are being taught throughout the curriculum in subjects from geography to biology in ways that bring the subject to life and capture the imagination of pupils. Anyone these days who says: “I don’t do maths” is missing out. It is becoming a truth to say that those who get stats get on and those that don’t get left behind.

However, there is still a lot to do before we can feel that we are, as a society, at ease in a data-rich world. We need to be much less tolerant of those who use numbers in ways that mislead, either deliberately or inadvertently. We should hold accountable those in positions of authority who act without drawing on the data that could inform their decisions. Decisions are judgments but assessment of the evidence can reduce the risk of making a terrible mistake.

We could also be much more questioning, asking ourselves when we read a headline: can that really be right? If it is something that affects us, in a few clicks we could find out for ourselves what is really going on. We do not all need degrees in statistics, we just need to be curious and apply some critical thinking and common sense.

- Why World Statistics Day is something worth celebrating