Support Wanted for Statistical Literacy Campaign

摘要

Statistics and statisticians are often misunderstood. Many people think statisticians have something to do with numbers, but seem to know little about the positive role data and statistics play in the world around us. The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) recently interviewed people on the streets of London to get their thoughts about statistics. Comments ranged from "haven't the foggiest," "bored," and "confused" to "you can say what you like with statistics." Yet, the overall impression was of a public that trusts statisticians, but not the interpretation of statistics. Mistrust was due more to a lack of confidence in those communicating statistics than in the statistics. Many of the people interviewed were interested in improving their understanding of statistics and thought this would improve their trust in data.