Whether you’re a rising high school junior weighing which math class to take or a recent retiree ready to devote your best years to the study of a new domain, you should consider the discipline of statistics.

The University of California-Irvine defines statistics as “the science concerned with developing and studying methods for collecting, analyzing, interpreting and presenting empirical data.” As UC-Irvine’s definition notes, statistics is a highly interdisciplinary field that knits together a varied array of other math and science topics.

Those topics include “soft” sciences like political, social and media studies. In fact, statistics is an excellent way for people who don’t consider themselves good at math to gain more insight into the numeric foundations for our shared reality.

Grandiose? Maybe. But true. Here’s why you need to understand statistics, no matter how far your learning journey has advanced.

1. You’ll Understand More About the World (And Your Everyday Experiences)

A strong knowledge of statistics helps us understand more about the world around us. This helps us make sense of everyday experiences — and not-so-everyday experiences.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a California-based statistician named Ryan McCorvie performed analysis and simulations  that helped lawmakers and members of the state’s executive branch develop data-driven policies to keep residents safe while ensuring life retained some sense of normalcy. Those policies likely saved lives, and it was all made possible because people like McCorvie listened to what the numbers told them.

2. You’ll Be a Better Researcher (No Matter What You Do For a Living)

You might not be a professional researcher, or even someone who uses basic fact-finding skills in your workplace. However, we all do “research,” whether it’s deciding where to go next on vacation, weighing educational options for ourselves or our kids, or figuring out which brand of dishwasher to buy.

A strong understanding of statistics serves as a check on your built-in biases as well as those created by external sources, like dishwasher manufacturers’ marketing departments.

3. You’ll Have More Capacity to Evaluate Others’ Claims

Understanding the science of statistics can also help you evaluate claims made by others, whether in your personal life, in mass media, in politics, or anywhere in between. Smart people very often use statistics to distort or misrepresent facts in ways that aren’t apparent to those not paying close attention. Your knowledge of statistics will help you keep up — and push back.

4. You’ll Buy Smarter

Being a savvy consumer isn’t just about knowing which brands deliver the best value. It’s also about knowing what to buy and when — and what you can do without. Understanding statistics can give you the confidence to say “no thanks” to that fancy new-car protection plan, or the foresight to load up on liability insurance even if you can’t imagine ever using it.

5. You’ll (Probably) Be a Better Amateur Sports Analyst

If you’re a sports fan, you already know that professional sports analysts use statistics every day. Arming yourself with this knowledge helps you become a more engaged, astute fan, and might just help you pick undervalued talent for your fantasy teams.

Is “Numeracy” Just As Important As Literacy?

It’s said that literacy is the foundation for future success, and that’s undoubtedly true. But don’t sleep on numeracy, or fluency with numbers and basic mathematical concepts.

Like literacy, numeracy can be acquired and sharpened over the course of a lifetime. This learning process doesn’t (well, shouldn’t) end with your primary school education.

As we’ve seen, a strong understanding of just one important branch of mathematics — statistics — can pay dividends in many ways, over many years. This is just as true, if not more so, for algebra, basic calculus, and other mathematical disciplines taught in K-12 schools.

Remember it next time someone tells you that regular people don’t need to know much about math beyond simple arithmetic.