Not to be confused with some fluffy white woolly sap-sucking insect (aphids), an aphorism is a pithy observation that contains a general truth or principle; like, “Appearances can be deceiving.”
There is one aphorism that I would like us to consider. A saying often attributed–for more than 95 years–to the charismatic Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain.
In 1913, a Boston medical journal credited Twain with the aphorism, “Figures can’t lie, but liars will figure.” This, however, is after Twain’s death in April of 1910–recall he came in and went out (as he had predicted) with Halley’s comet– and there is no corroborating evidence for the attribution of this saying in Twain’s own writings.
While the entrepreneur may have used the phrase, at one time or another, or even paraphrased the Psalmist David, who claimed in haste, “All men are liars” (Psalm 116:11), it is likely Carroll D. Wright– Commissioner of Labor for the Department of Labor and one of the foremost statisticians in the world–who supposedly originated the now famous and much misquoted saying on June 25th of 1889 during his opening remarks at a convention of Commissioners of Bureaus of Statistics of Labor (now there’s a convention you wouldn’t want to miss!).
Mr. Wright’s words: “It has been said that figures will not lie. It is equally true that liars will figure. It is our duty to prevent liars from figuring in the interest of any theory, by presenting original data fairly.”
Couldn’t agree more. That statement alone is worth the price of admission.
Political columnist John Crudele, who writes for the New York Post, suggested that if humorist Twain were around today his quote might go something like this: “Figures do lie, and liars figure out how to make people believe them.“
Misrepresenting data is more than disingenuous.
Samuel Adams– whom you may associate more with bottles or cans of Boston Lager® than words of wisdom– had much to say about “pervert[ing] the plain meaning of words!”
It is an understatement to say that there exists an overabundance of “statistical noise” out there. Elected officials should bear in mind–people care more about what they see with their own eyes. What they understand though their own experience.
French poet, essayist and philosopher Paul Valery (1871- 1945) brainstormed his own aphorism: “Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.”
On second thought, maybe fluffy aphids do convey elements of scientific principle, as aphids are known to be among the most destructive pests given their ability to act as vectors for any number of problems.
Here’s another aphorism . . . “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics.
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