I have me brave women who are exploring the outer edge of human possibility, with no history to guide them, and with a courage to make themselves vulnerable that I find moving beyond words.
Gloria SteinemRead
If you hear a statistic, you will make up a story to go with it, because our brains are organized on narrative. And you may very well make up a wrong story because you only have one fact, which is a statistic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our understanding of statistics can be clouded by our natural inclination to create narratives, often leading to misconceptions.
Gloria Steinem's quote highlights the human tendency to construct stories around isolated facts, like statistics, in order to make sense of them. This process is based on our brain's organization around narratives, but it also exposes us to the risk of creating incorrect interpretations when we draw conclusions from limited information.
Themes
StatisticsNarrativeStorytellingWisdomMisconception
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing the importance of data literacy, this quote can remind the audience to critically analyze statistics.
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Age brings a freedom. When you're young, you're much more subject to the idea of what feminine is or how you should look or how you should behave.
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All those chemicals that create empathy only work when you are in a room together.
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Obviously, there is much similarity among the challenges of transgender people and all women - from health care to harassment to discrimination in the workplace.
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