Oh, dear. A poor excuse for considered thought, Astro.
Statistics can, of course, be misused; they can also be used by someone who has misapplied the principles.
The proper statistics about cot deaths were, of course, what freed the mother. The expert moved outside his specialism - paediatrics - and gave an opinion on an area in which he is not qualified - statistics. Any A level statistician would have shot his evidence down in flames - problem was not only Meadows but all the lawyers, the judge and the jury were statistically 'illiterate', and didn't spot his error in multiplying together two contingent probabilities as if they were independent.
But to suggest - as you appear to - that nothing useful comes out of statistics is silly. The whole of modern technology is based on the statistical analysis of experiments, enabling scientists to determine what is the correct conclusion from the experiment.
Only people who don't understand statistics can be manipulated in the way you suggest. A little learning in the area allows you to spot when rubbish is being foisted upon you!!
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