Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.
The words of Lil B — “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.” — resound with the blunt force of truth spoken in the language of the streets, yet echoing wisdom as old as civilization itself. They remind us that human tongues are fickle, swayed by fear, desire, and pride, but that the clarity of numbers stands firm, unmoved by deceit. For while stories can be twisted, statistics and measures, when true, shine as beacons of reality.
To say men lie and women lie is to acknowledge the frailty of human nature. Throughout history, promises have been broken, testimonies corrupted, and reputations sullied by falsehood. Kings and peasants alike have bent truth to serve ambition. Yet the record of numbers — the grain counted in the storehouse, the coin tallied in the treasury, the casualty listed after battle — stands beyond mere opinion. In the permanence of measure, one finds a mirror that cannot flatter.
The ancients bore witness to this. In Babylon, the Code of Hammurabi set weights and measures as sacred, for merchants might lie, but the scales revealed truth. In Rome, generals might boast of victory, but the Senate demanded the tally of legions lost and lands taken. And in the age of science, men may argue of theories, yet the numbers of experiment expose falsehood, guiding humanity closer to reality. Thus Lil B’s words are not new, but the renewal of eternal wisdom: that fact endures where flesh falters.
Yet this truth carries a double edge. For while numbers themselves do not lie, the hands that wield them may twist their meaning. Statistics can be chosen, measures distorted, contexts ignored. The wisdom, then, is not to worship numbers blindly, but to recognize their purity when held against the shifting sands of human speech. Where men and women deceive, let the numbers be tested, and they will often strip the mask from falsehood.
Let the generations remember: truth must be sought not only in words, but in the evidence that withstands time and bias. Men may lie, women may lie, but the enduring testimony of numbers, rightly kept and rightly read, stands as a fortress of clarity. Lil B, in his simple phrase, offers a command to seekers of wisdom: do not be swayed by sweet voices or cunning tongues, but look to what can be counted, measured, and proven. In that lies the bedrock upon which trust may be built.
QVQuynh Van
Lil B’s quote seems to suggest that numbers hold an unshakable truth, but it’s worth questioning. How often do numbers get distorted or selectively used in arguments to make a point? Shouldn’t we be cautious about placing too much trust in numbers without fully understanding their context and the potential biases behind them?
HTLe thi hoai thu
While Lil B's statement suggests that numbers are more reliable than people, it overlooks the fact that numbers, like everything else, are shaped by human decisions. Isn't it important to remember that even raw data can be misleading without the proper context? How do we ensure that we’re interpreting numbers correctly and not just blindly trusting them?
KKKiet Khang
This quote makes me think about the role of numbers in our lives. While it’s true that human biases and lies can cloud truth, are numbers always as accurate as they seem? I wonder if we rely too heavily on data without considering the context or assumptions that go into producing it.
NTBich ngoc Nguyen thi
I get what Lil B is saying with this quote—numbers seem more objective than human statements. But does this mean we should trust numbers unconditionally? Statistics and data can be twisted or taken out of context to support a certain agenda. Can numbers ever be truly 'honest,' or is it all about how we use them?
ALCoc ai lon
While the quote might seem to imply that numbers are inherently truthful, I think we need to be cautious. Numbers can be manipulated or misrepresented, depending on how they are presented or interpreted. In this sense, can we really say that numbers 'don’t lie,' or do they simply reflect the biases of those using them?