“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” So goes a common saying warning us about the ease with which statistical data can be manipulated to arrive at just about any conclusion one could desire. According to an article on CNBC, it appears that Steve Jobs’ infamous reality distortion field was in full swing at Apple’s Wednesday tech conference and new product unveiling. Jobs has claimed victory for the iPod Touch in the portable gaming market, boldly stating that it is “the number one portable game player in the world” and that the device “outsells Nintendo and Sony’s portable game players combined.” To wit, CNBC reports that 1.5 billion game and entertainment apps have been downloaded for iPod Touch alone. But does this really mean that Sony or Nintendo have been beaten at their own game in any meaningful way? Much like Microsoft’s recent amusing abuse of fuzzy math to claim that the Kinect is cheaper than either a Wii or a Move-equipped PS3, the audacious boasting and trotting out of impressive numbers are effective strategies for glossing over the details of the situation.

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