2021년 TOK Essay 입니다 (A).

“Statistics conceal as much as they reveal.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge

There is a quote from Benjamin Disraeli, which goes, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The majority of people, even myself, heavily rely on statistics because we believe statistics are objective as they are made of numbers, not including personal views. However, statistics do not always show everything but they sometimes conceal facts whether purposely or not. In this prescribed title, ‘Statistics conceal as much as reveal’, statistics will be defined as accumulated information about the area of knowledge expressed in numerical value. ‘Conceal’ will be defined as hidden information due to subjective perspective or due to inaccuracy occurred in data gathering. ‘Reveal’ will be defined as the main purpose of statistics, which are objective and cannot be contradicted. Statistics are applied to many different fields. This essay will explore two Areas of knowledge –human sciences, and natural sciences– to understand the questions ‘to what extent can statistics conceal as much as they reveal in human sciences?’, and ‘to what extent are statistics accurate in natural sciences’?

There is the same amount of concealment and revealment of statistics in human sciences. Statistics must rely on reason in order to provide the right knowledge. Human science is the study of human behavior in social aspects, and statistics in human sciences provide a brief view of social trends. Mass numerical information is interpreted and generalized to be made into a single graph or a table, hence, statistics reveal approximate social trends…