How not to use a statistic in your article
As I type out these words, Economist.com (my very favorite news magazine) has up an article concerning the root causes of suicide as a social phenomenon, which includes this statement: "Suicide rates have been rising in India, especially among the young, and over a third of those who kill themselves are under 30 years old."
Let's just all let that sentence sink in for a moment. Then let's all wonder what the writer of this story was thinking when he wrote it. The reporter is inviting us to be impressed that somewhere just over 30% of suicides occur... among people finished with at least 30-40% of their lifespans.
Which might lead those of us not "analytically-challenged" to suppose that suicides are either evenly spread across the spectrum of age in India, or there is actually a low rate of incident among the young in that country. Which would be good! Right?