Black Friday was a huge hit for online retailers – sales rose 26% over last year. Brick-and-mortar stores, meanwhile, lost badly. How do we know that? Because Black Friday sales, overall, were up only 6% from last year. Somebody whiffed and dragged the average down. It wasn’t the online guys…READ MORE.
My Take: A very good article in conveying a point that is often lost in discussion…When we hear a statistic through out about X group or event, a wide range is often apparent, but not brought to light. Inflation is a good example. A general number that tells us about the overall rate of inflation is quoted, yet how does that really impact our own lives? Is the bulk of inflation in consumer goods or in some other area?
The article linked above brings to light a few common examples where statistics leave us lacking in our analysis. It’s not because statistics are lacking, it’s because in a world where a million bits of information is throw at us constantly, summarized information is constantly demanded. Yet, if we do not move beyond a summarized headline we can end up with a very distorted picture of what reality holds.