M. A. McRae, author: Surveys say... Really? Because I don't think so!

Do you question it when some solemn TV presenter proclaims 'surveys say' ?

Because you should. More and more nonsense is told to us as fact. Some even say that the public need to be 'educated,' though very often, what causes this statement is that for once, some of 'the public' are not falling for the latest fashion in pure nonsense.

Try these:

A charity – a million Australians come to us for help every year?

Yes? 1/20th of the population? No way, though certainly 2% of the population might go to them for help 10 times in a year.

Blood Bank: 1 in 3 Australians will have a life-saving blood transfusion in their life-times.

Bunkum. And just a couple of days later, it was rephrased to: 1 in 3 Australians 'depend on life-saving transfusions.'

So do around 7 million Australian need regular transfusions to maintain life? Of course, we don't. Maybe 1 in 20 will need a litre or two of blood once or twice in a lifetime when we have an operation or accident. A very few of those will need more. Plus there are a very few people who do need regular transfusions for some condition or other.
Blood donations are needed, but there is no need for lies to get people to give blood.

Cancer: 20% of the populations will get cancer, and 50% of those will die from it.

10% of us do not die from cancer, yet this ridiculous statement was made as fact in a news bulletin.

'One teenager in every classroom has a gambling problem.'

Well, I'd bet my life that they don't!

The Red Cross with their door-knock appeal - 'One in five children go to school hungry.'

Well, one in five children might be tempted by an extra hot breakfast if offered, but that does not mean that their parents are not providing breakfast.

It is odd that the chief culprits broadcasting these lies are charities, and other 'do-good' agencies.
'Awareness-raising' for every disease under the sun is a prime culprit, so much so that I think it is more to do with empire-building than anything else.

Of course, if you twist definitions enough, you can come up with unexpected statistics. But then it's just as easy to make up your own 'statistics.' If you're a charity, especially, no-one is likely to call you on it.

Well, I am! Charity or not, doing good or not, do not tell us lies.

And people, for goodness sake, think about what you are told. Do not unthinkingly accept an untruth just because the liar is a charity or someone purporting to be a medical authority.

Want more common sense? See my related post about reining in the health police, January, 2013.