Statistics: Do They Matter?

Statistics are invariably quoted for one reason or another every day. They might be quoted simply to let you know how likely it is that it will rain for the day; other statistics might be quoted to reference the amount of suicides, drug raids, murders, and arrests each year. Statistics truly are the language of everyday life simply because they are used so often! But understanding what statistics are before you actually give any merit to them is of utmost importance.

So what are statistics?

A statistical number is essentially a number or a set of numbers representing a large or small data set. This data set is taken and calculated. Have you ever heard of the Bell Curve? The Bell Curve is essential to statistical data and represents where the average, or mean, of your data set lies. Remember, of course, that your data set is representing the entire population, but is not the entire population itself!

The idea of the Bell Curve is actually where many people get confused and do not understand how to interpret a statistical figure. For example, a study may conclude and find that men don't show their emotions very much. Some people might look at that statement and cry wolf simply because they know so many instances where they can prove that it's not true. However, those people need to realize that the study was performed on a sample of the population and not the whole population. The Bell Curve automatically eliminates two sides to the issue when it says that they are sure that the answer lies in the middle.

What are statistics good for?

There are a whole range of things where statistics comes in handy for and a few of them were pointed out in the beginning. Statistics help researchers in their continuous study and they enable a scientist to study and make generalizations about the entire population being studied simply by doing some test statistics on a sample of the population! Would it be possible to study every single person within the United States, for example? That certainly would be impractical and nearly impossible; this is why a sample is taken from the population of the United States.

So without getting too hasty and assuming that all statistics are flawed for one reason or another, there are some really handy and interesting uses for the math that we use on a daily basis. Statistics in our daily life and more effort definitely needs to be made in order to understand them.