Statistics and Rhetoric

The Basics on Numbers and Rhetoric

Joanna Wolfe's "Rhetorical Numbers: A Case for Quantitative Writing in the Composition Classroom" published in CCC (2010). For my students, a 6.5 page version is available on our class website.


Often students assume that argument does not function within fields that strive toward objectivity like math Famed statistician Nate Silver, though, writes, “The numbers have no way of speaking for themselves. We speak for them. We imbue them with meaning” (9). Numbers, while "true," have little value until they are brought into the world—until the minus sign means a withdrawal from your checking account, until three equals the number of pizza slices you have for lunch, or until the flu virus spreads exponentially in your city. Raw data must be interpreted and that interpreting always requires a person who is situated, biased, flawed, and emotional. These are the types of problems that students can evaluate with rhetoric.

Even with a closed-system like math, the rules are not created in a neutral vacuum. For example, our base 10 system groups items based on increments of ten—it takes ten ones to push a number over into the tens column and ten groups of ten to overflow into the next column to the left, the hundreds. There are symbols available for 1-9, but after that a single column can contain no more. Doesn't it “naturally” make sense: grade school children counting on their ten little fingers? In reality this system of numerical organization is dependent on culture and is not a universal. The Mayans in fourth century AD used a base 20 system (Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World 28); California’s Yuki tribe had base 4 and base 8 numbering systems. Some scholars believe the Mayans counted on their fingers and their toes; the Yuki counted the spaces between the fingers (When Languages Die 173-175). Not to be limited to body digits, ancient Iraq used various systems including base 120 and base 60 (Mathematics Across Cultures 103). Mixing things up even more, the Dozenal Society of America has promoted since World War II the use of a duodecimal system, in other words, learning to count in base 12. Among the benefits: alignment with systems of measurement (12 inches to a foot, 12 donuts in a dozen) and fractional simplicity—1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 of 12 all create nice whole numbers. All of these systems of numbers, from the way we count them up to the way they take on meaning, depend on culture and context, on the rhetorical situation.

Cold Open Video to Begin Class

Pros and Cons of Public Opinion Polls (listed on my Cold Open Videos Post)

Lecture

Class Work

Even though all statistics are rhetorical and biased, not all statistics are created equally. Like all rhetorical moves, statistics can be stronger or weaker, and people can employ statistical methods in better or worse ways. Let's identify some ways that statistics commonly go wrong.

Videos to Discuss

"Did You Know?"

"Wealth Inequality in America"

Captain America "Statistics Song"

More on Statistics

Some Examples of Misleading Statistics

Tim Wise Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity  (93-96): In this section, Wise compiles analyses of faulty statistics that have been used by racism skeptics. These skeptics claim that the success of Asian Americans in the United States disproves racial inequality. The numbers more accurately suggest that when all other things are equal in education, location, and skills, Asian Americans are paid less than white Americans because of discrimination.