In our society we are constantly bombarded by surveys, polls, and statistics that we are expected to believe. How can we talk back to a statistic to check its validity? There are five questions we can ask: who says so? how does he know? what's missing? did somebody change the subject? and does it make sense?
             When asking who says so? you are looking for a reliable source, such as a renowned scientist or specialist in that field. If given an answer such as "my friend told me," chances are the information may be invalid. Inquiring further, however, and asking how does he know? may produce more satisfactory results from that person whose "friend told him so." Even if the source spent eight years researching, hypothesizing, and calculating the result may still be faulty information.
             When we ask the question what's missing? we should look to see if there was "selective fact gathering", otherwise editing facts that do not agree with what the presenter wants put forth. It is important to encompass all facts, whether or not they are to your liking.
             Means and medians may be merged into one if the subject is changed. For example China, where a large area was said to contain twenty-eight million inhabitants-five years later the same area had one hundred and five million people living within the vicinity. The reason for the discrepancy was found later; the first census was obtained for military and tax purposes, while the second was for famine relief.
             The final question we can ask when questioning a statistic is does it make sense? Many statistics may sound convincing, but are still false. Presenting figures that appear factual often makes them so appealing that they are readily accepted as truth. Referring to all of the above questions can often root out ambiguities and uncertainties.
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