Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the manipulation of information and how statistics can be skewed to mislead people.
Mark Twain's quote highlights the dangerous potential of statistics to deceive. While numbers and statistics are often seen as objective truths, they can be selectively presented or interpreted in such a way that distorts reality. Twain suggests that not only can lies exist, but the misleading nature of statistics can be even more pervasive, ultimately influencing opinions and decisions based on false premises.
Themes
LiesStatisticsDeceptionTruthMisleading
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about data manipulation, one might quote Twain to illustrate their point.
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To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
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