---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Use statistics as input not output. Use…"
description: "\"“Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up your mind on an issue.Don't make up your mind and then go looking for the number to support yo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg"
---

#  Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up…

![“Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up your mind on an issue.Don't make up your mind and then go looking for the number to support yourself.” quote by Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg)

> ““Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up your mind on an issue.Don't make up your mind and then go looking for the number to support yourself.””

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Treat statistics as evidence to inform decisions, not as a justification after a choice is made.

**In simple terms:** Use data to shape opinions, not to confirm them.

Key Takeaway

Seek data before deciding, not after.

Themes

decision‑making critical thinking statistics bias awareness

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

guidance philosophical

When to use this quote

- business strategy
- policy development
- personal choices
- media consumption

Key Concepts

cognitive bias evidence‑based reasoning pre‑mortem analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- What data would change your stance?
- How can you guard against confirmation bias?

A Different Perspective

People often cherry‑pick numbers to fit pre‑existing beliefs.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Made-to-stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made-to-stick/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/)

## Related quotes

> [“You don't have to speak monosyllables to be simple. What we mean by simple is finding the core of the idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/you-don-t-have-to-speak-monosyllables-to-be-simple-what-we-mean-by/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“No detail is too small.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/no-detail-is-too-small/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“To get someone's attention break a pattern of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/to-get-someone-s-attention-break-a-pattern-of-thinking/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“As we gain information we are more likely to focus on what we don't know :" Someone who knows the state capitals of 17…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/as-we-gain-information-we-are-more-likely-to-focus-on-what-we-don-t/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Plans are useful in the sense that they're proof that planning has taken place. The planning process forces people to think through the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/plans-are-useful-in-the-sense-that-they-re-proof-that-planning-has/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Knowledge curses us, if we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. And it becomes difficult to share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/knowledge-curses-us-if-we-find-it-hard-to-imagine-what-it-was-like/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Stories should put knowledge into a frame work that is more lifelike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/stories-should-put-knowledge-into-a-frame-work-that-is-more-lifelike/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“You say 10 things, you say nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/you-say-10-things-you-say-nothing/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“We can't unlearn what we already know and there are only two ways to beat the curse, the first is not to learn anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/we-can-t-unlearn-what-we-already-know-and-there-are-only-two-ways-to/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“The company wants to sell you more shampoo, your friend doesn't, so she gets more trust points.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/the-company-wants-to-sell-you-more-shampoo-your-friend-doesn-t-so-she/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Common sense is the enemy of sticky messages, if I already "get" what you're trying to tell me, why should I be obsessed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/common-sense-is-the-enemy-of-sticky-messages-if-i-already-get-what/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [I only use statistics to reinforce what I already think, or if it's something unusual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-smith/i-only-use-statistics-to-reinforce-what-i-already-think-or-if-it-s/)

[Dean Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-smith/)

> [“Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball, wrote in the New York Times in February 2009, “The virus that infected professional baseball in the 1990s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/michael-lewis-the-author-of-moneyball-wrote-in-the-new-york-times-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Most people use statistics the way a drunkard uses a lamp post, more for support than illumination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bartlett/most-people-use-statistics-the-way-a-drunkard-uses-a-lamp-post-more/)

[Randy Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bartlett/)

> [Math is a language that you use to describe statistics, but really it's about collecting information and putting it in an order that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-stamile/math-is-a-language-that-you-use-to-describe-statistics-but-really-it/)

Lauren Stamile

## More by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

> [“You don't have to speak monosyllables to be simple. What we mean by simple is finding the core of the idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/you-don-t-have-to-speak-monosyllables-to-be-simple-what-we-mean-by/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“The company wants to sell you more shampoo, your friend doesn't, so she gets more trust points.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/the-company-wants-to-sell-you-more-shampoo-your-friend-doesn-t-so-she/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“We can't unlearn what we already know and there are only two ways to beat the curse, the first is not to learn anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/we-can-t-unlearn-what-we-already-know-and-there-are-only-two-ways-to/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“You say 10 things, you say nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/you-say-10-things-you-say-nothing/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Stories should put knowledge into a frame work that is more lifelike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/stories-should-put-knowledge-into-a-frame-work-that-is-more-lifelike/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Knowledge curses us, if we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. And it becomes difficult to share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/knowledge-curses-us-if-we-find-it-hard-to-imagine-what-it-was-like/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Plans are useful in the sense that they're proof that planning has taken place. The planning process forces people to think through the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/plans-are-useful-in-the-sense-that-they-re-proof-that-planning-has/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“As we gain information we are more likely to focus on what we don't know :" Someone who knows the state capitals of 17…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/as-we-gain-information-we-are-more-likely-to-focus-on-what-we-don-t/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“People tend to overuse any idea or concept that delivers an emotional kick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/people-tend-to-overuse-any-idea-or-concept-that-delivers-an-emotional/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“To get someone's attention break a pattern of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/to-get-someone-s-attention-break-a-pattern-of-thinking/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“No detail is too small.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/no-detail-is-too-small/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

> [“Common sense is the enemy of sticky messages, if I already "get" what you're trying to tell me, why should I be obsessed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/common-sense-is-the-enemy-of-sticky-messages-if-i-already-get-what/)

[Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

[Explore all 13 Chip Heath and Dan Heath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/)

## More Data quotes

> [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/)

Angela Llama-Butler

> [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/)

SebastianMax

> [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/)

[REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/)

> [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/)

[Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/)

> [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/)

[Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/)

> [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/)

Ebbe Skovdahl

> [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/)

[Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/)

> [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/)

[Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/)

> [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/)

[Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/)

> [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/)

[Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/)

> [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/)

[Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/)

> [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/)

[Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/)

> [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/)

[Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/)

[Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up your mind on an issue.Don't make up your mind and then go looking for the number to support yourself.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Chip Heath and Dan Heath"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-them-to-make-up-your-mind-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Data"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-them-to-make-up-your-mind-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chip-heath-and-dan-heath-35074_data_use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-t_1637634.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Use statistics as input not output. Use them to make up your mind on an issue.Don't make up your mind and…” — Chip Heath and Dan Heath",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Chip Heath and Dan Heath",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Use statistics as input not output....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-them-to-make-up-your-mind-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/use-statistics-as-input-not-output-use-them-to-make-up-your-mind-on/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```