Are You a Statistic or an Individual? Why It's Important to Question the Numbers
Statistics aren't absolute truths. We don't realize that often enough.
Hey,
I hope you’re doing okay. I’ve been reminded recently of the usefulness of meditation. We often spend most of our time in our ‘conscious’ state and do not connect with our core behind the veil.
Reconnecting with this core through 5-10 minutes of meditation/just sitting without thinking can be useful to rebalance yourself. Take this as a reminder to do it more often if you’re not doing so.
As we go into election week in Nigeria, I send you energies full of safety, positivity, calmness and hope. I personally hope for an Obi win but like with all things in life, we have our individual rights to opinion and should respect each other’s opinions always. Let’s be human to everyone around us regardless of how the next week goes.
Stay Jiggy!
As a young boy, I was always in awe of statistics.
When they said x % of people have a certain disease. Mentally, I praised whoever conducted the research for the great work they had to put in to ask everyone in the world about something and come to that conclusion.
I was a bit disappointed when I later learned that most statistics and “facts” we have in our world are estimates.
For something that plays such a key role in what we describe as “truths” in our world, it’s interesting that we rarely get to realize that they are estimates.
(Standing on a mini-cliff at Turtle Bay, Watamu, Kenya)
In recent weeks and times, I’ve been talking and writing a lot about the dangers of absolute truths. This is one of the most important areas of this concept.
There are 8 billion people in the world. 14% of people in South Africa have HIV. 20% of women in the world have PCOS. There are x billion number of people that belong to different religions. And more
Some stats are trivial while some serve as guides in various areas of human life. These if taken as absolute truths can affect people adversely.
The field of statistics is extremely important. We can’t get exact data for everything. So researchers have to conduct research for a specific stat based on a sample of the target population/subject. They try to be as inclusive as possible and aim to include representatives from all groups.
Ultimately though, they are estimates. Estimates that try to paint a picture of a certain subject. But just like a painting, they can come close but it’s not the same thing as the absolute truth.
(The wall lamp. All paintings and pictures are not absolute truths)
I think it’s important to remember a lot of the stats we live and swear by are estimates are not absolute truths. They influence what we know as true. So it might be useful to occasionally take a step back and not use them so authoritatively.
While stats might be useful information for the general populace, they might not be relevant to your own unique situation even if you fall within the defined target group.
So we should assess beliefs that are tied to statistics and avoid making them the foundation of our identities where possible. We should look beyond the generalization of statistics and determine for ourselves if something truly applies to us or not.
Statistics has its use. But its results are not absolute truths. We shouldn’t treat them as such.
This letter was written while listening to this Gospel playlist.
Love always,
Francis Sani.