Why I Hate Statistics

Hi.  My name is Jim and I’m a statistic. 

In college, I was a good student.  I was a business major and I received mostly A's or B's in my courses.  Except in Statistics.  In Statistics, I struggled to get a C.  And that C has haunted my college GPA ever since (Ok, not really - I don't even remember my college GPA anymore!  Guess it wasn't so important after all!).  Needless to say, I hate statistics.  Besides the theoretical equations that LOOKED like math equations but WEREN'T, I learned that relying solely on statistics rarely gives you the whole picture.  People use statistics to justify horrible business decisions (see:  New Coke, Crystal Pepsi, anything Windows/PC related) or to find comfort in the safety of numbers (see:  69% of Americans have smoked weed, I should try it too!).  Rarely do statistics tell the story behind those numbers.

Well, I have become a statistic.  But I refuse to become a number.  There is a story behind my statistic and I hope to share it here.  
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