&gt; “We have a system currently that is almost entirely<p>&gt; reactive, a system influenced by anecdote and emotion,”<p>&gt; said Harris, who has dubbed her database the “Open<p>&gt; Justice” initiative. “The beautiful thing about numbers is<p>&gt; that they don’t lie.”<p>Perhaps I&#x27;m being a bit contrarian, but numbers and statistics can lie more than you&#x27;d expect. Very few laymen can interpret statistics correctly, and you can even skew the proper interpretation by carefully selecting certain statistics which support your viewpoint.<p>I would be careful in saying that numbers cannot lie, or that they don&#x27;t lie. Meaningful metrics don&#x27;t lie, but this is not the same thing (and even then, how do we define meaningful?). I wish people would consider that it is perfectly possible to lie using math, especially so when the average person does not maintain an advanced understanding of statistics.