To the editor: Within the 1954 e-book “Learn how to Lie With Statistics” by Darrell Huff, the creator explains how graphs, samples, averages and different knowledge can be utilized to mislead readers. Enterprise columnist Michael Hiltzik’s many examples present us how President Trump makes use of numbers as “rhetorical objects” (“Right here’s how Trump will get away with utilizing doubtful numbers,” Dec. 19). The larger the numbers, the extra overwhelmed are the individuals attempting to digest them.
One factor in Hiltzik’s piece that drew my consideration was Trump’s declare that he “slashed costs on medicine and prescribed drugs by as a lot as 400, 500 and even 600 p.c.” Maybe I’m lacking one thing, however for those who slash a worth by solely 100%, doesn’t that deliver it right down to $0? Neglect 400% or extra. That’s mathematically inconceivable.
I attempted some mathematical trickery whereas volunteering to assist fourth graders with math. I instructed them I deserved to have my pay doubled. They laughed. They knew it will nonetheless be $0.
Jerry Lasnik, Thousand Oaks
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To the editor: Trump will get away with doubtful or obscure statements as a result of he’s not challenged in actual time. This occurred throughout one presidential debate in 2024. When Kristen Welker of NBC Information pressed Trump to explain his healthcare plan, he responded he had “ideas of plan.” It’s simple to interpret from that assertion that he didn’t, in truth, have any plan.
Reality-checking after the very fact makes little distinction. Throughout Trump’s first time period, the Washington Submit documented greater than 30,000 deceptive or false statements that he made. Possibly a newspaper with assets ought to hold a every day catalogue of Trump’s falsehoods.
Domenico Maceri, San Luis Obispo
