--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The same set of statistics can produce…" description: "\"The same set of statistics can produce opposite conclusions at different levels of aggregation.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/thomas-sowell-247_conclusion_the-same-set-of-statistics-can-produce-o_2904792.jpg" --- # The same set of statistics can produce opposite… ![“The same set of statistics can produce opposite conclusions at different levels of aggregation.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/thomas-sowell-247_conclusion_the-same-set-of-statistics-can-produce-o_2904792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/thomas-sowell-247_conclusion_the-same-set-of-statistics-can-produce-o_2904792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/thomas-sowell-247_conclusion_the-same-set-of-statistics-can-produce-o_2904792.jpg) > “The same set of statistics can produce opposite conclusions at different levels of aggregation.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aggregated data can lead to different interpretations depending on the level of detail examined. **In simple terms:** Statistics can tell opposite stories when grouped differently. Key Takeaway Check the level of analysis before drawing conclusions. Themes statistics interpretation aggregation bias decisionmaking Mood analytical cautious Type informative critical When to use this quote - policy analysis - business reporting - research design Key Concepts Ecology economics data analysis Questions to Reflect On - How might your conclusions change if you view data at a finer granularity? - What risks arise from ignoring aggregation effects? A Different Perspective Aggregations may hide underlying variation, leading to misleading decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggregation-4151318/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Conclusions Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusions-different-2085170/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-level/) [Different levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-levels/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Levels Aggregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels-aggregation-4151320/) [Opposite Conclusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-conclusions-1356026/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) [Statistics Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics-produce-4151319/) ## Related quotes > [The aggregation of large fortunes is not at all a thing to be regretted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-aggregation-of-large-fortunes-is-not-at-all-a-thing-to-be/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [One often thinks that using 2 different things like visual and sound lead to 2 different conclusions - to a different content - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-often-thinks-that-using-2-different-things-like-visual-and-sound/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is one long struggle between conclusions based on abstract ways of conceiving cases, and opposite conclusions prompted by our instinctive perception of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/life-is-one-long-struggle-between-conclusions-based-on-abstract-ways/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is a strange fact, characteristic of the incomplete state of our current knowledge, that totally opposite conclusions are drawn about prehistoric conditions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-wegener/it-is-a-strange-fact-characteristic-of-the-incomplete-state-of-our/) [Alfred Wegener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-wegener/) > [We're all playing the same game, different levels. 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It appeals to players on multiple different levels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morhaime/starcraft-ii-is-a-really-great-game-it-appeals-to-players-on-multiple/) [Michael Morhaime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morhaime/) > [Artwork operates on two different levels: On one level there's artwork as a mode of expressivity, and then there's the other side, where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/artwork-operates-on-two-different-levels-on-one-level-there-s-artwork/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [We need to be open minded to understand that there are lots of different levels of things going on and we shouldn't be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/we-need-to-be-open-minded-to-understand-that-there-are-lots-of/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [You want success on different levels. 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I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? 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You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [I have come to the definite conclusion that musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/i-have-come-to-the-definite-conclusion-that-musical-ability-is-not-an/) [Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/) > [Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/study-how-a-society-uses-its-land-and-you-can-come-to-pretty-reliable/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. 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