if you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything

proverb

Statistics can be manipulated to support any conclusion.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. Statistics can be manipulated to support any conclusion.

Origin

This phrase was coined by economist Ronald Coase. A closely related sentence had been published in Alfred Sauvy's book L'Opinion publique (The public opinion, éd. Presses universitaires de France, coll. « Que sais-je ? », 1961, p. 100): The figures are innocent people who, under solicitation, under torture, very quickly confess what is asked of them, even if it means retracting later. (Les chiffres sont des innocents qui, sous la sollicitation, sous la torture, avouent très vite ce qu'on leur demande, quitte à se rétracter plus tard.)

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

if you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20torture%20the%20data%20long%20enough%2C%20it%20will%20confess%20to%20anything

MLA

“if you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20torture%20the%20data%20long%20enough%2C%20it%20will%20confess%20to%20anything. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20torture%20the%20data%20long%20enough%2C%20it%20will%20confess%20to%20anything.

Source: if you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.