Abstract

The vast majority of humans are not familiar with statistics. Only few people really think statistics is fundamental in this data-filled world, possibly almost all of them are statisticians. There is a widespread cultural prejudice against information expressed in numerical form, just as there is a widespread prejudice that numbers and formulae are only for those who are naturally inclined to them; this last prejudice is most ingrained against women. Moreover, few are ashamed to say that they do not understand maths and numbers - indeed, sometimes it is declared proudly –while, on the other hand, fewer are willing to admit no cultural basis in literary subjects. We are ashamed to say that we cannot understand the world described in words, while we have no difficulty in declaring that we do not understand the description of reality expressed in numerical form.
In fact, neuroscience shows that, in order to learn language, children’s brains apply statistical and probabilistic mechanisms. We do not learn numbers after learning words, but we learn words thanks to the ability to handle frequencies and probabilities, unconsciously.
The fear of statistics, evidenced by many studies, can be addressed by narrating data and numbers in familiar words, e.g. revealing statistical reasoning in beloved literature texts such as the Iliad or others.
An example. Hom. Il. 2 [125] “and should the Trojans be gathered together, even all they that have dwellings in the city, and we Achaeans be marshalled by tens, and choose, each company of us, a man of the Trojans to pour our wine, then would many tens lack a cup-bearer; so far, I deem, do the sons of the Achaeans outnumber the Trojans that dwell in the city.” This is a description of the living graph of an indicator and its result: A/T>>10. Homer must have been a very good statistician at heart.
In this way, people that fear statistics can be approached by giving them the awareness that reasoning about data and formulas is within everyone's reach and that for everyone, statistics can become a useful tool in daily life: you do not have to become a nerd to benefit from knowing the ABCs of statistical data. The key is to demystify statistical technical language and focus on meaning, i.e. the link between statistics and real world.
This proposal has been gained, and has been tested, within a working group at the Italian National Institute of Statistics, promoting statistical culture for more than a decade among children, young people and adults, both in schools, institutional settings, and in divulgative science events for citizens.