Picking Data To Support Theory

We live in a world of numbers. To most of us, numbers are real. They’re concrete. They have a definite meaning. These numbers are used to tell us about the world, how we should live, and what we should do.

But are those numbers always impartial? Could they be skewed because those that are presenting them are biased? Do the people providing these numbers have a subconscious or overt agenda? Could they be influenced by their beliefs, peers, or financial motives? Could they be victims of groupthink?

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“What Is Confirmation Bias? People are prone to believe what they want to believe,” Psychology Today, April 23, 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201504/what-is-confirmation-bias

James D. Cherry, MD, MSc; Philip A. Brunell, MD; Gerald S. Golden, MD; and David T. Karzon, MD, “Report on the Task Force on Pertussis and Pertussis Immunization—1988,” Pediatrics, vol. 81, no. 6, June 1998, Part 2, p. 939.

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957, https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1960/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1957.html

Sandra W. Roush, MT, MPH, et al., Historical Comparisons of Morbidity and Mortality for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States, JAMA, November 14, 2007—Vol 298, No. 18.

Sister Jeffrey Engelhardt; Neal A. Halsey, MD; Donald L. Eddins; and Alan R. Hinman, MD, “Measles Mortality in the United States 1971–1975,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 70, no. 11, November 1980, pp. 1166–1169.