Stats!

So statistics to me are a pain in my side, or so I thought.  In the past stats to me was just crouching the numbers, never really collecting the data.  It was really just math with no real meaning to me.  After watching the video this week and seeing the various ways that stats can be used and are used in the real world, it is nice to know that it is not merely just the numbers and computing!  I guess this class may not be as bad as I thought!
My favorite stat I always heard were a bit funny.  They kind of put statistics in an interesting place.  You can make statistics say what ever you want.  For example.  100% of statistics say what you want 90% of the time.  Just throwing numbers out there means nothing, but the problem is when they are broadcast over a large population, they have an effect.  In high school we were given a pamphlet that let all students know that 100% of successful suicide attempts end in death.  Scary to hear 100% of anything ends in death.  Stats with a purpose there.
The video this week showed that there is good that can come from statistics and that often people do not like the truth behind it.  I am hoping that this course will teach me ways to get and present statistics in a meaningful way.