Coming to Terms With Chance: Engaging Rational Discrimination and Cumulative Disadvantage

Statisticians know that results formulated by statistics depend totally on the variables put in. Gandy (communications, University of Pennsylvania, emeritus) is concerned by the trend to make decisions on everything from public policy to finance to insurance, based on probability charts. He points out that they do not allow for individual variance or random, unexpected events. The reliance upon what are purported to be impartial statistics, he argues, perpetuates discrimination. His particular concern is the ways in which African-Americans are hampered by blanket evaluations that result in higher interest rates, insurance payments or the denial of either credit or insurance altogether. The profiling of people to determine if they are likely to commit crimes is another way of using statistics to reinforce discrimination. He also points out that the media, often from a desire to do good, uses statistics to emphasize inequalities, with the result that they are only exacerbated. Gandy concludes with a call to action. The danger of unfair and discriminatory applications of probability figures is not just to racial minorities. Anyone can be targeted as a result of the blind reliance on "statistics" to make decisions affecting the way our society operates. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Oscar H. Gandy, Jr, is Professor Emeritus of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, USA.