Paul Ryan can run a marathon in two hours and fifty minutes. It’s an impressive figure, until you learn that it’s not true.

When Paul Ryan told the public about his supposed (and, if true, wildly impressive) marathon time, he was unhesitating and confident. So when it came to light that his actual time was nowhere near that fast, he apologized and blamed the error on a “back injury.”

For most, this is simply a laughable blunder. And compared to many lies, it’s relatively harmless. But in this political climate, it’s also an example of an alarming trend in political dialogue.

Dishonesty is an intrinsic part of politics, and ostensibly always will be. It’s something that we learn to accept and deal with as best we can, having long ago accepted that we can’t really put a stop to it. But by learning to spot new kinds of lies and sift out the genuine from the false, we can protect ourselves from the sway of dishonesty.

However, politicians respond in kind by coming up with new, creative and devious ways to disguise questionable information. One of their most popular techniques at this time is to take statistics out of context, or simply invent numbers to support their claims.

The beauty of this technique is that it often allows public figures to bypass the public’s internal filters. If Ryan had said that he was very fast, Americans would assume that he was exaggerating and ignore the claim. But when he says that he can run 26.2 miles in two hours and fifty minutes, his claim sounds precise, official and genuine.

This applies even if he made the number up.

By creating statistical data out of thin air or by taking it out of context, politicians can take the most outlandish claims and give themselves an air of legitimacy. For claims that already have some support, an invented or out-of-context number can take an embattled premise and set it in concrete.

For example: during the Democratic National Convention, a keynote speaker, Julian Castro, said that the president has created 4.5 million new jobs during his term. This is only true if you ignore all the jobs that have been lost during that time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the actual net gain in jobs during Obama’s presidency is closer to 300,000.

In other words, the statistic of 4.5 million – which was recited by the keynote speaker and two others during the convention – is inflated by 1,400 percent.

You may have also heard about U.S. Rep. David Cicilline’s claim that the United States will spend $100 billion in Afghanistan this year, Romney’s unabashed and almost uncontrolled use of the word “trillion” during his speech, or even Clint Eastwood’s exaggerated unemployment claims.

Now, more than ever, politicians are shamelessly covering misinformation with meaningless or conjured “statistics.”

So when you’re listening to a speech or reading a statement, try not to take things for granted. Just because it has a number attached, doesn’t make it true.

Nathan James is a sophomore majoring in public relations. His column runs on Thursday.