I have always loved statistics. They help to define how to think about something. However, I don't always appreciate how they are used to help us think about something.
When a statistic is used, for instance, to understand the issue of childhood poverty or ocean temperatures, it is a teaching tool and may positively influence our behavioral psychology or sociology. When a statistic is used for the purpose of stating the facts of events like how many passes Joe Namath (I'm dating myself) made in a said football game, those statistics are informational and probably have no bearing on anything significant in our lives. When a statistic is used to influence a voter in an upcoming election, and skews sample questions and results to present a personal or political agenda, then the statistic is called a self-interest study, which ultimately has no value except to advance the sponsoring party's goals.
The Gallup polls present statistics related to sociopolitical issues. These polls are often based on a large sampling but can be skewed by the method. The order of questions, the demographic chosen, and the type of poll used (for example, a voluntary poll) might greatly distort the results of any given statistic. These possible distortions are important to consider when allowing ourselves to draw conclusions.
With the current flurry of statistics related to the upcoming election, we need to think for ourselves about issues with the help of these statistics, but see clearly the agendas of the media, corporations or Super-PACS who may want to use the statistics for their own purposes.
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