Just a reminder that before I talk about biblical facts I feel that I need to discuss just how data and it's interpretation can be manipulated to suit a particular persons point of view or particular slant. People take so called facts without question and believe that data. My objective is to show just how we can easily be fooled with numbers.
I heard it last week once again. In my career I have heard it many times. "I want all my staff to be above average", the speaker was a very senior manager and he was serious in his intent. Above what average was not discussed, and if he was talking about his own team he did not realise that is the team performance improves then guess what! The team operates with a new average and 50% of the people will be below that average. (No-body likes to think that they are below average, so like to think that they are above average) again in the 50% bracket.
Percentages might make news stories stand out, but without a connection to the human experience, can become meaningless. Take the following story on a breakfast news programme. The story was about taking a particular type of vitamin that researchers said could kill if taken in larger quantities. The television announcer said that taking these vitamins caused a 15% increase in death. Maybe I have got something wrong, but isn't the risk of death very high already? As far as I know the likelihood of death is 100%. It falls into the same arena when people say that they give 110% in work. Taking this particular type of vitamin apparently makes death even more certain.A 115% if you want a 'accurate' number.......
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