In chapter 4 of The Power of Critical Thinking, Vaughn discusses the reasons for belief and doubt. After reading this chapter I can see how these are decisions that are being made so many times per day. How you receive information you see on the news, read about, or gossip about, depends on so many factors including who you are getting the information from and how it is being given. Determining truth and falseness is not always so cut and dry. In chapter 5, Vaughn describes many different types of fallacies. Although most of us have heard these used, reading the real definitions gives them a clearer meaning and makes them easier to spot in sentences. The rhetorical moves (persuaders) are also an aspect of the english language that are constantly used. I realized people, including me, do not often think about how the use of fallacies and rhetorical moves can alter the intention or meaning of a statement.

The concluding chapter of How to Lie With Statistics revisits the things to look for to see if information is lying. It is important to determine if the information is trying to prove something for the sake of a theory, reputation, or fee. If so, the source who gives the information will be more inclined to exaggerate the numbers and deceive the interpreter. Huff warns his readers to be aware of who is presenting the information and where they got the information from. Also, do not let your eyes deceive you, look carefully at what is being said, not what is being shown. This was proven to be important when we looked at the graphs in class, and we came across a pie chart that not only added up to over 100%, but the 60% section was larger than the 70%. The numbers were written, but if you were given limited time to look at the chart, you would see a big piece of the pie next to a less popular name, and a smaller piece next to a more popularly voted name.

Another important thing to consider is what is NOT being shown. Information that is left out is usually done so intentionally to sway the reader towards the desired opinion. The final question to consider when interpreting statistics is “Does this even make sense?”. Huff explains in the final pages of his book that you would be surprised how often the answer to this question is No.

Reading this book opened my eyes to the constant misconceptions that are thrown around in the news, in books, and on the internet, everywhere we look to find helpful and meaningful information. Often times people look to information like this to make major decisions in their lives. This is a scary thought considering, now we know, much of the statistics we look at are presenting, more or less, false information.