Statistics vs. case studies

Two Lenses for Viewing Reality

To gain a complete understanding of any phenomenon, we need to use two types of lenses: that of the case study (the anecdote) and that of statistics.

Each offers us a valuable but incomplete view of reality.

The Power and Danger of the Case Study

As we have seen, the case study or individual story is powerful.

It connects us emotionally to a situation, allows us to feel empathy, and gives us a deep and rich understanding of a particular experience.

Joseph Stalin's famous and chilling quote, "a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic," illustrates this point perfectly.

However, its danger lies in the fact that it can be an outlier and misleading if we take it as representative of the whole.

The Power and Danger of Statistics: Statistics, on the other hand, offers us the view of the big picture.

It tells us what the trend, the norm, the average is. It protects us from being misled by exceptions.

However, its weakness is that it is abstract and cold. It disconnects us from individual human experience.

Furthermore, statistics can be easily manipulated.

The way data is collected, what is chosen to measure and what is omitted, and the way results are presented can all be used to support almost any argument.

The Critical Thinker's Synthesis: A skilled critical thinker doesn't choose b