: About Me

It has been said that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. The quote is often attributed to Mark Twain, but in fact he was quoting British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. "Figures often beguile me," wrote Twain, "particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force." Twain did more than merely popularize Disraeli's remark; he admitted that he himself was often "beguiled" by figures. Twain was nobody's fool; for him to admit that even as keen an intellect as his own coul...