a blog post by Sheila Webber
A short article on the Royal Statistical Society's Statslife site by Hetan Shah (RSS Executive Ditector) a few days ago asserts that: Critical thinking and stats literacy are the answers to a post-truth age. It finishes by saying that “We should explore new ways of promoting critical thinking, statistical literacy and a curious mindset among people young and old. As is so often the case, technical and policy fixes can only take us so far; education is the only sustainable answer to this major societal issue.”
Shah, H. (2017, May 17). Critical thinking and stats literacy are the answers to a post-truth age
https://www.statslife.org.uk/features/3460-critical-thinking-stats-literacy-are-the-answers-to-a-post-truth-age
The RSS site is worth exploring further, especially the Resources section, where the section “for journalists” could be equally useful for students: it includes exercises, presentations etc.
https://www.statslife.org.uk/
Hazel’s comment:
And, of course, the RSS site is also useful for anyone who wants to learn even a little about how statistics can be manipulated.
Remember the Whiskas advert? 8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas?
WRONG 8 out of 10 cat owners who thought their cats preferred a specific food said that their animals preferred Whiskas. Not the same thing at all.
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