This session draws its title and theme from the widely repeated Hal Varian quote and the well-known “lies, damned lies, and statistics” statement of uncertain attribution. The panel will address at least these two broad questions: • What are the primary reasons that a non-statistician might distrust statistical conclusions, and what can we do about it? • How does the public perceive scientific conclusions using statistics, and how can perceptions be improved? We look to improve how we better reach people who are generally to extremely interested in research results, people who sincerely want answers to questions like “how do we know this?” or “what evidence is this based on?”
