--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal…" description: "\"“Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the ‘experience of suffering.’” (qtd in Sutton 11)”\" — M.D Paul Farmer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg" --- # Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the… ![“Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the ‘experience of suffering.’” (qtd in Sutton 11)” quote by M.D Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg) > ““Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the ‘experience of suffering.’” (qtd in Sutton 11)”” [M.D Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-d-paul-farmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Statistical data and graphs are insufficient for grasping the lived experience of suffering. **In simple terms:** Numbers alone cannot capture suffering. Key Takeaway Seek personal narratives alongside data to understand pain. Themes statistics human experience empathy Mood analytical empathetic Type observation advice When to use this quote - health policy design - clinical practice - humanitarian work Key Concepts qualitative research phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate stories into data analysis? - What limits do numbers have in representing pain? A Different Perspective Data can still inform but must be complemented by stories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-suffering-597369/) [Statistics Graphs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics-graphs-5816570/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Qtd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-qtd-5816569/) [Understand Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-experience-473828/) ## Related quotes > [It is when you experience another's suffering as your own that your human values is manifested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/it-is-when-you-experience-another-s-suffering-as-your-own-that-your/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Words may help you understand something, but experience allows you to know. Never ever trade your own experience for someone else's words about anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/words-may-help-you-understand-something-but-experience-allows-you-to/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Life experience. I can talk it up, vow to broaden my horizons, but I’m still limited to the experiences with my life. How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/life-experience-i-can-talk-it-up-vow-to-broaden-my-horizons-but-i-m/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [“To gain knowledge, you may simply observe, but to truly understand, you must experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-sharma/to-gain-knowledge-you-may-simply-observe-but-to-truly-understand-you/) [M.P. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-sharma/) > [“Having DID is, for many people, a very lonely thing. 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We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Because we live in a fallen world, we suffer. But those of us who know Jesus are never alone in the suffering, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-turner-lee/because-we-live-in-a-fallen-world-we-suffer-but-those-of-us-who-know/) [Melissa Turner Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-turner-lee/) > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Browse all 13,957 Suffering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the ‘experience of suffering.’” (qtd in Sutton 11)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.D Paul Farmer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-paul-farmer/statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to-understand-the-experience-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Suffering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-paul-farmer/statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to-understand-the-experience-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/m-d-paul-farmer-258580_suffering_statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to_2367013.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal to understand the ‘experience of suffering.’” (qtd in Sutton 11)” — M.D Paul Farmer", "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": "M.D Paul Farmer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-d-paul-farmer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Statistics or graphs,’” are not optimal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-paul-farmer/statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to-understand-the-experience-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-paul-farmer/statistics-or-graphs-are-not-optimal-to-understand-the-experience-of/#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 } } ] } ```