It is generally believed by the layman, the expert, and the journalist that numbers are hard and judgements are soft. It means that when we see a number, or a statistic, we think of it as objective, accurate, and incontestable. However, when we hear that someone consider, believes, or has an opinion our sceptical mind awakens. But often numbers are far softer than we commonly assume. Basic metrics such as inflation, or debt as a share of GDP, have been shown to change radically after revision...
