【文章标题】：More than half of adults in U.S. say they lack basic statistical understanding 【文章标题】：美国超半数成年人称缺乏基础统计学认知
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“While statistics are not hard to understand, they are even easier to misunderstand,” Ramos said. “Fortunately, concepts in statistics are grounded in intuition and rationality. So, a basic but thoughtful introduction to these concepts can help people understand their own thinking better.” “虽然统计学并不难懂，但它更容易被误解，”拉莫斯说。“幸运的是，统计学概念建立在直觉和理性的基础之上。因此，对这些概念进行基础而用心的介绍，可以帮助人们更好地理解自己的思维方式。”
At the 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, a market-research and survey company solicited questions from attendees to include in a nationwide survey given to a representative sample of the U.S. population. Ramos and his co-author, Samuel Anyaso-Samuel, postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, submitted two questions that were used in this survey: “How much do you understand about statistics and p-values?” and “How often would you base decisions on reported statistics if you understood it better?” Ramos and Anyaso-Samuel analyzed the responses to these questions for this study. 在田纳西州纳什维尔举行的2025年联合统计会议上，一家市场研究与调查公司向与会者征集问题，以便纳入一项针对美国人口代表性样本的全国性调查。拉莫斯及其合著者、美国国立卫生研究院国家癌症研究所博士后研究员塞缪尔·阿尼亚索-塞缪尔提交了两个被该调查采用的问题：“您对统计学和p值的了解程度如何？”以及“如果您对统计数据的理解更深，您会更频繁地依据报道的统计数据来做决策吗？”拉莫斯和阿尼亚索-塞缪尔对本研究中这些问题的回答进行了分析。
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, one-quarter reported that they had no understanding of statistics, while 37% reported limited familiarity. Slightly more than one-quarter said they had learned some statistics in school. 在受访的1000人中，四分之一的人表示完全不懂统计学，37%的人表示仅略知一二。略高于四分之一的人表示在学校学过一些统计学知识。
This does not mean that people do not believe statistics matter, Ramos said. Nine out of 10 participants said they would use statistics more if they possessed more understanding. 拉莫斯说，这并不意味着人们认为统计学不重要。十分之九的受访者表示，如果对统计学有更多了解，他们会更频繁地使用统计数据。
“Understanding and evaluating the quality of evidence should be within reach of any interested citizen,” Ramos said. “Statistical literacy is critical when research is invoked in news reports, social media or policy debates that affect people’s lives.” “理解和评估证据质量应该是任何感兴趣的公民都能做到的，”拉莫斯说。“当新闻报道、社交媒体或影响人们生活的政策辩论中引用研究时，统计素养至关重要。”
The survey specifically asked whether people understood p-values. In research, a p-value is a tool for understanding a study’s results. In simplified terms, the smaller the p-value, the greater the statistical evidence, according to Ramos. 该调查专门询问了人们是否理解p值。在研究中，p值是理解研究结果的一种工具。拉莫斯解释说，简单来说，p值越小，统计证据就越充分。
“Statistics does not provide certainty,” Ramos said. “Rather, it works with the uncertainty present in nature and society to provide a reasonable approach for making decisions. The better people understand that concept, the more they can learn when to trust or mistrust the statistical evidence they read. Taking the time and effort to learn about statistics can help a person become a more informed consumer of science.” “统计学并不提供确定性，”拉莫斯说。“相反，它利用自然界和社会中存在的不确定性，为决策提供一种合理的方法。人们对这一概念理解得越透彻，就越能学会何时该信任或不信任所读到的统计证据。花时间和精力学习统计学，可以帮助一个人成为更明智的科学信息消费者。”
For people who are interested in statistics, Ramos said there are many excellent free resources available. He noted that Penn State provides the course materials for STAT 200: Elementary Statistics online as a free educational resource, even to people who are not enrolled in the class. 拉莫斯说，对于对统计学感兴趣的人，有许多优质的免费资源可供使用。他指出，宾夕法尼亚州立大学在网上免费提供STAT 200：基础统计学的课程资料作为教育资源，即使是没有选修该课程的人也可以使用。