In the quote used at the beginning of Prompt A, I think the author is trying to tell people that although statistics can show trends and basic figures, when they get specific, they may not always be completely accurate. It is even harder to get completely accurate statistics than ever before. This is because of the larger audience you can reach when trying to gather data. For example, if you are trying to poll people about who they are going to vote for and 54% of the country is registered in one party and 46% is registered in another, it will be hard to poll those exact same proportions of people on the internet. This depends on a lot of factors because more young people and people with money have access to the internet. There are many other things that influence these results, and because of that, it is extremely difficult to very precise data. Davies talks about the idea of “hiding” data due to fears that people will resent you. I do not think that hiding these statistics is an entirely effective strategy. I think that if it were my campaign, I would probably use statistics, but I would try to pair statistics with an emotional appeal. I think that saying something that is emotional but can be backed up with facts is a good way to appeal to more people. I think that the reason some people are starting to mistrust facts is not because they do not believe what people are saying, but because they have never been positively effected by a change in statistics such as unemployment rates. If an old coal town in the midwest has had a rising unemployment rate since the 1970’s and politicians talks about how low the unemployment rate is throughout the country, the people living in the old towns will be much more likely to agree with someone that doesn’t talk about how low the unemployment rate is, but talks about how there are still people that are struggling. I do not think the problem is that people don’t agree with statistics and facts. I think the problem is that people are tired of feeling like since they are part of the 5% that are unemployed their opinions and experiences are not important.
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I really enjoyed your reflection on this assignment. I agree that it is basically impossible to get an accurate representation of a population from a poll on the internet. Statistics that claim that they are precise or “factual” leads to resentment in the readers because it is simply not possible. I like how you said that they can be used to predict trends and produce basic figures, and it is true that these statistics come under more scrutiny as they try to get more specific. I also liked how you said that you wouldn’t try to hide data with your campaign. We, as writers, have the ability to omit data and shape an argument by construing statistics to agree with our viewpoint. This is unethical and I’m glad that you agree. Appealing to the readers emotions by providing a narrative along with statistics is a very solid strategy. Your analogy with the old coal town was great because it shows that although unemployment may be improving, from a national standpoint, it doesn’t recognize those who are still struggling. Overall, great reflection.