Okayy Im really stuck on this one, Im usually good at analyzing and figuring out what a poem means. But not this one...

Question

QUESTION: What does the author achieve by mixing exact and approximate numbers in "A Contribution to Statistics?"

A CONTRIBUTION TO STATISTICS
Out of a hundred people

those who always know better
-fifty-two

doubting every step
-nearly all the rest,

glad to lend a hand
if it doesn't take too long
-as high as forty-nine,

always good
because they can't be otherwise
-four, well maybe five,

able to admire without envy
-eighteen,

suffering illusions
induced by fleeting youth
-sixty, give or take a few,

not to be taken lightly
-forty and four,

living in constant fear
of someone or something
-seventy-seven,

capable of happiness
-twenty-something tops,

harmless singly, savage in crowds
-half at least,

cruel
when forced by circumstances
-better not to know
even ballpark figures,

wise after the fact
-just a couple more
than wise before it,

taking only things from life
-thirty
(I wish I were wrong),

hunched in pain,
no flashlight in the dark
-eighty-three
sooner or later,

righteous
-thirty-five, which is a lot,

righteous
and understanding
-three,

worthy of compassion
-ninety-nine,

mortal
-a hundred out of a hundred.
thus far this figure still remains unchanged.

Answer 1

What do you guess? What is the overall effect of the poem? The "hard" numbers are things we all can identify with and people are pretty sure about. The "soft" numbers are those traits or attitudes that seem, what do you think, good ones or bad ones and are they easy to be certain of? How many are cruel? "better not to know..." How does the poem end in the last two, "worthy of compassion" and "mortal"? I can't give you an answer. My answers might be quite different than yours.

Answer 2

Is there a difference between exact and approximate numbers? What kind of statistics are used and how? Do they mean anything. Well, most teen age girls are obsessed by fashion and nothing else. Is that a statistic? Does it mean anything? Is it even accurate? Is it even an indication of anything that is true? Is an approximation a statistic? What is the author trying to say about "statistics" and how they are used?

Answer 3

omg i can never find awnsers just questions just lemme fricken cheat XD