• Disraeli is credited with saying: "there are three kinds of lies; lies, damn lies and statistics".  Now in this era of political campaigns it is hugely clear that all parties use statistics to prop up their position or bring down the other guy.  We see poles that show one side is leading by 2% which is cause for celebration by the 'winner' but then, if we look closely enough, we see the margin of error in the pole is +/- 3.5% which means that it could actually be that the other side is leading by 1.5%.  But neither side really wants to point this out as it would throw all of the statistics into limbo…oh woe is us.
• So, where else are we led astray by these tools of the Devil called statistics? 
• When we buy a new car, we see the expected "average" fuel mileage displayed prominently on the window sticker.  However; when we buy this gas sipper, we find that we often fall short of the advertised numbers.  What sin have we committed that we are denied this economy?  Well, the truth is that the number is arrived at via a test that the car manufacturers and the EPA have designed.  A sample of every model of car is put up on a rolling platform and 'driven' over a pre-set course of starting, stopping, acceleration and breaking.  I have been to Detroit and seen this test in action in person.  As I watched various cars go through the several hour course, it seemed to me that even my sainted grandmother would have been considered a lead-foot compared to the way the test is run.  No wonder they come out with high numbers, they never are in an actual, real-world event (otherwise, there would be a lot of horn honking, expletives and universal hand signals.)  A side note; this is also the test that made ethanol look as poor as a fuel when compared to regular gas.
• The final straw:  We live in South Dakota, so in an average January, we might get a week of sub-zero high temperatures and in July or August it isn't unusual for us to see 100+ degrees.  To put this another way, if you were standing with one foot in a bucket of ice water and the other in a raging campfire, on average, statistically you are just fine. 
• Whoever does the math last wins.
• Boomer Babble - "Thoughts at Large" are written by the Boomer Babble Guys, Charles Doug and John with occasional help from friends.  The Boomer Babble radio show is broadcast on WNAX 570 Sunday evenings at 5:00.  Visit us at BoomerBabble.com.
•