Far too many people treat numbers like sacred totems offering divine insight. The truly numerate know that numbers are tools, nothing more, and their quality can range from wretched to superb. A crude version of Codman’s End Results System that simply tracked patient survival might result in a hospital boasting that 100% of its patients live—without mentioning that the hospital achieves this bragging right by turning away the sickest patients. Numbers must be constantly scrutinized and improved, which can be an unnerving process because it is unending. Progressive improvement is attainable.
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