• iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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    14 hours ago

    I love how one person cites a statistic, and another person just dismisses it as false because of their anecdotal experience.

    • cynar@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      Part of the problem is that statistics can be abused. It takes a reasonable amount of training to be able to differentiate between reliable statistics and potentially dodgy. Even worse, we are often presented with them, striped or context.

      The best solution is to teach people how to both spot problems and seek reliable data. The proper meaning of “do your own research”. Unfortunately, a significant chunk just give up with them and only trust their gut.

    • Frozengyro@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      This is how most people think and see the world, which is why we (the US) are in the boat we’re in now. People don’t see the big picture if they never have to or aren’t taught how to think critically.

      • faythofdragons@slrpnk.net
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        11 hours ago

        I think it’s a complicated problem. To start with, the studies are usually paywalled. If you can afford to purchase access, you still need the capacity to understand and parse the formal academic language. Most people have neither of those requirements, and have to rely on the media to report the statistics accurately, which doesn’t happen.

        This leads to a situation where the media keeps trying to say, idk employment statistics are better than ever, and then everybody updates their mental blocklist to filter out the word ‘statistics’.

        • Frozengyro@lemmy.world
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          10 hours ago

          Not to mention most issues are extremely nuanced and complex, not something that can be accurately broken down into 5 second sound bits.

      • Maeve@midwest.social
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        10 hours ago

        Almost as of by design of corporate overlords and billionaires. Almost as of billions of dollars and collective hate can’t fill the emptiness. Almost as if we should focus on healing everyone’s (including billionaires ')wounded inner child schisms and social divides may start healing. Maybe

    • kahdbrixk@feddit.org
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      13 hours ago

      My thoughts exactly. And how I love this complete dismissal style with the “False.” at the beginning, that has established itself online. it’s a perfect giveaway for " now my personal but universal opinion, also called Truth bomb, is going to destroy your statement" - which in my opinion is just extremely patronizing and never really true.

      Especially when comparing your personal anecdotal experience with a fucking statistic.

      Oh and nobody talks like that in real life, or at least the people that do start their verbal line of argument this way are idiots and everybody knows it.