“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” –Mark Twain

Mark Twain was definitely onto something here when he spoke these words of wisdom. He perfectly captures the ideas presented in Andy Kessler’s article, “Studies Are Usually Bunk, Study Shows.” Kessler explains the dangers associated with blindly trusting research or conclusions made from it. A majority of research is conducted in university labs monitored by students, so it makes sense that some of the results might be skewed in terms of the legitimacy.  Don’t get me wrong, it is not because the research was not conducted properly, but rather because often times it can not be replicated due to the conditions of the people being studied (college students).

Kessler argues that the two most dangerous words in the English language are “studies show.” I completely agree with this point because those two simple words can cause readers to blindly trust the claims made by a claimsmaker that is using this so-called “research” to back it up. It is dangerous because this “study” that they speak of might either a) not exist b) not be replicated or c) be biased. Biased research occurs when the researcher uses their previously conceived ideas of what the outcome might be to only look for the answers they want.

A great example of this is climate change research. Although close to 100% of all scientists agree that climate change is a real threat and is getting worse because of human actions, there is still a very small percentage of scientists that say that their research proves it is not real. However, these scientists’ research was recently debunked for being biased and could not be replicated. This is still dangerous, however, because politicians who do not want to make changes to help reduce the rate of climate change can simply say “studies show” that climate change isn’t real. And the craziest part? People actually believe them! Just because they said those two silly words.

So, back to the Mark Twain quote: which is more dangerous, lying or using biased statistics to support a claim?

It is extremely important to keep this message in mind while writing the paradigm shift paper because of how research-heavy it is. Although it is necessary to support my ideas with research, I need to make sure that the research I use is credible.  By that I mean it has been proven through repetition. I also have to make sure I am researching with an open mind, rather than just looking for sources that confirm my thoughts because that could affect the outcome of my paper.