I think that the topics of number could use more discussion because I found it quite interesting and none of us really talked about it. To me I always thought adding a number statistics to a statement or argument can make it stronger and valid, but apparently it does not work like that all the time. Often times it makes the claim misleading, even though it sounds so strong in the claim one is making. The concept of percentages was interesting because I see and hear it all the time. My high school claims that 100% of their graduates go to college. Even though it sounds like a very good number, we only have 50-60 people graduating every year. Compare that to a bigger high school, 50-60 people is nothing, because they can 1000 people graduating and 400 people going to college. Their stats will look better because 400 people are going instead of that 60. But no one will know the exact number unless they look into the school population. As numbers seem to be a nice factor in a claim because it sounds like there is a proof to back it up, most of the time it causes the claim to be weak.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Week 16: D3
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Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI am really glad you picked to discuss numbers! I also agree that the subject was interesting and not many people really did talk about it. Like you, I also believed that using statistics in an essay would make the statement more valid or stronger. Reading your example helped me see how numbers can be misleading. My high school had about one hundred seniors. Out of those 100 hundred people we will say that only 70 graduated; meaning 70 percent graduated and went to college. I found that there are still ways around the percentage. Technically they can say that a hundred percent of graduates went on to college. So the school must be successful. It is misleading because it did not mention the 30 people who did not graduate and therefore did not go to college in the fall.
Nice blog and Happy Holidays :)