A lot of time in my writings, I’d like to use some numbers including statistical results to help my writings be more persuasive to readers. However, before reading this article, I never realize the problem that a lot of times readers can find a wide gap between the numbers in the article and the reality in the real life, and therefore becomes doubtful to the article.
After reading this article, I start to think about what Davies mentioned in his article that “in talking of society as a whole, in seeking to govern the economy as a whole, both politicians and technocrats are believed to have lost touch with how it feels to be a single citizen in particular”. This is very true. Actually I believe the same problem happens to me and other people either when we try to use some statistical data in our writings to prove something. Using myself as an example, I tend to consider the readers of my paper as a whole group when I work on my paper, which can result in resentment of some readers when choosing a data to present. However, readers of one article can come from different places, encounter different kinds of lives, adhere to their own cultures, and certainly represent different opinions that people may have regarding the same issue. Therefore, I think it’s really a problem when we try to interpret a situation or an issue by just using one data. This kind of statistical result usually is the result of averaging a lot of diverse resources to present in a whole general level.
On the other hand, we have to admit that statistics, to a large extent, help simplify and analyze the society in a quantitative way. But the thing is, when politicians and governments want to use statistics to present something, it’s very important to find a balance between the “simplicity” and what a citizen feels regarding that simple number. One suggestion I can make is to consider carefully and try to divide the readers into different groups based on their locations, income level, or religious beliefs, and based on that to gather a few more specific statistical numbers instead of an “average” number. Also, try to use some other numbers to prove the idea. For example, when trying to present the progress about economic development, just focusing on unemployment rate can lead to resentment of people who earn very little. Instead of centering around the unemployment rate, also using some other numbers such the improvement in minimal wage, increase on salaries by looking into different industries, or even change on consumption behaviors. It doesn’t to be statistics only, but can be the combination of quantitative and qualitative evidences.
When writing to the audience, it is important, as you stated, to focus on how they may perceive that statistic that you plan to use. You want to engage your audience and allow the statistic to enhance your argument. Although there may be outliers that may not take it for what it is worth, the benefits to the other readers can prove beneficial for your argument. I like how you finish the second article, it is similar to what we talked about in class on Monday. Using more than one type of statistic or infographic can be very helpful to readers of different backgrounds. When an author can present different modes of information, they are able to access a larger crowd and can appeal to a broader audience. Obviously there are some different situations, such as you may not be appealing to a broader audience. Therefore, you may want concise and less broad statistics. Again, this comes down to understanding your topic and the audience you plan on reaching. Lastly, I agree that statistics are a useful and important tool when conveying a message to an audience. However, I think that trying to group people based on those parameters is a moot point. When trying to convince an audience, perhaps millennials as I am trying to reach about the water crisis, grouping the audience by race, religion, etc. could prevent my idea from expanding because they will feel that they are being separated. This could be a personal feeling but I feel that in the time we live now, I feel grouping people is a touchy subject. I for one, can careless, but you never know how that can spill over. I could be interpreting you wrong, you will have to let me know. Otherwise, I agree with using other types of “numbers” to prove your idea. I think multiple modes of information is essential in reaching the broad audience.
You write, “For example, when trying to present the progress about economic development, just focusing on unemployment rate can lead to resentment of people who earn very little.” That’s a great point!! I think it is funny when people say that more jobs are created; therefore, the economy is improving. I work at Target, and I could not live off a full-time wage there in the area that I currently live. You could create a million Target jobs while still keeping a million people in poverty. A real sign of economic strength is if the jobs created are of the quality that could keep people from poverty. It’s easy to hear the unemployment rate went down and think that somehow our economy is on the upswing. More detail should go into presenting facts. If not, these facts are just misleading people to think that a situation is better than what it is. When it comes to presenting statistics, honesty is truly the best policy. If we are to be respectable persons, we need not tell half-truths.