Earnest question: how do you deal with the age old “lies, damned lies and statistics” question? We’re drowning in data and data visualizations. One problem seems to me to be that storytellers just use them however they want. But the real problem is that often times the “lies” aren’t really lies, they’re just differences in perspective. For example, that Hillary Clinton has won more votes than any white male presidential candidate in history. Factually correct, but liberals and conservatives may interpret or dismiss this fact in different ways — and both sides are arguably correct.

Is the lack of data literacy really the biggest stumbling block toward social change? Or is the issue more about our ability to wield and manage the narratives that use the data?