Lying With Statistics, Florida Style

According to a news article yesterday, 54 Florida hospitals have reached their maximum ICU capacity. In the same article, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated that 20% of Florida’s ICU capacity was still available. DeSantis’ deflection is a prime example of lying with statistics. Unless hospitals are ferrying people all over the state, having excess capacity in one county does not offset another that is maxed out. DeSantis also stated that some smaller counties in Florida do not have any ICU capacity. That is another misrepresentation, as the 54 hospitals that are at capacity all have some ICU beds.

A favorite book of mine is titled How to Lie with Statistics. It provides many examples of the misuses and abuses of statistics. One of the chapters is titled “The Well-Chosen Average.” DeSantis’ chose average capacity to defend his position, but does not reflect the underlying reality that the COVID outbreak is overwhelming many hospitals in Florida. The misuse of averages is like the old joke that a statistician is someone who puts his head in a freezer, his feet in an oven, and says “On average, I feel fine.”