[robochat42]

So it's lies, damned lies and statistics again. When I was young I believed that rational debate could actually solve issues; now it feels like a sufficiently clever actor can basically argue for any point of view with solid 'looking' reasoning to back them up. All very postmodern (post-truth) although it was always thus.

Is the point of this article that we shouldn't trust anything (even when there are numbers to back up the conclusion) or that we can find the truth if we are smart enough to ask the right questions?

[im3w1l]

This plays out every day in the court system. Having a sufficiently clever lawyer does help. Having the truth on your side does too. Neither, not even both together, is a 100% guarantee.

[triplesec]

It's not exactly a new problem: https://people.uwplatt.edu/~ciesield/platovsoph.htm