The Royal Statistical Society have recently launched a report alongside The Actuarial Profession looking at the quality of teaching of statistics in schools and the role that statistics should have in eduation. This is so important I am plugging it and their campaign Getstats shamelessly.
I don't know about others who use statistics in their job, but I am fed up with the knowing semi-humorous comments by the likes of Terry Wogan about "another government survey - ho ho" or "lies, damned lies and statistics". That phrase was more a warning for professionals not to abuse the power that they had over numbers.
Similarly every latest health scare in the press that tells you not to do something that contradicts the last health advice because the likelihood of dying from something has doubled from 1 in 100,000 to 2 in 100,000 really gets on my nerves. My health statistic? The likelihood of you dying at some stage is 100% - some may say that there was a chap that didn't do it, and therefore it is less than 100% but I say he had help from another Source and that doesn't count.
So support a worthy cause, and take some time each day to be come a bit more numbers savvy, because otherwise you will be duped at every turn and will only have yourself to blame.
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