“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” A couple of posts on the American Evaluation Association’s blog Genuine Evaluation have had me thinking about that quote and what it means for the development of court ADR programs.
The quote, of course, refers to the twisting of data to fit one’s argument. Sometimes, though, data is twisted inadvertently, leading to a misinterpretation of outcomes. I recently came across a minor example of this in an AP article that is unfortunately no longer available online, about the first six months of the Foreclosure Mediation Program in Nevada (“Nevada Court: Homeowners Use Foreclosure Mediation Program,” January 19, 2010). (more…)
