Most exaggerate
WE ALL realise that the Canal & River Trust exaggerates, but alas in this day and age, so do many more companies and organisations, in fact I should imagine most of them do with their statistics, writes James Henry.
You only have to listen to the BBC News on television, where more than once the newsreader has quoted a figure then later in the programme another person has quoted an entirely different figure relating to the same subject.
Great deal of exaggeration exists
Anyone giving a moments thought to the immigration and migrants claims currently being bandied about, made to either stay in or leave—you all know what I am referring to—must realise that a great deal of exaggeration exists with those 'statistics'.
Exaggeration is now the norm in all things. Every day we hear of a new wonder cure by some scientist or other, backed of course by statistics (read 'lies'). Then there are product manufacturers making completely ridiculous claims for their latest 'improved' product. How many times have soap powders and the myriad of other products been 'improved' all of course backed by statistics. Which usually means something was taken out it being banned by the EU for some obscure reason or other, with the product often not as good?
Being conned
Yet many of us who give thought to the claims soon realise that it is all nothing more than our being conned by the advertising agencies, each intend upon bettering its rival in its statistics.
Most of us, just giving a moments thought to the claims by Canal & River Trust that it has millions and millions of visitors to its canals know this is absolutely impossible. Not 'visits' you will notice, but 'visitors', meaning that you or I, no matter how many times we visit are still just one visitor.
315,000,000 shortfall
At the last census there were 63,000,000 people in the United Kingdom, but as that was a few years ago, let's make it 70,000,000. So even if everyone is a visitor to the Trust's waterways, with it stating it had 385,000,000 millions visitors last year, there is still 315,000,000 short!
See was I mean about statistics and exaggeration? I just wonder if it realises how stupid it makes it look?
[Another contributor, Paul Robinson, wrote: I used to visit the canal network at least twice every working day—I used to go to work via the M1, and crossed the navigable Trent once each way! There were lots of other drivers using the motorway too, so I suppose they could all be counted!]