The premise underlying both Selzer and Winsor’s pieces this week is that writing (and, I’d say, by extension rhetoric) creates reality. I think your examples of how manipulating data as a form of self-expression are spot on. We don’t often think about how simple choices like checking a box or describing our symptoms are a form of self-expression. We are putting ourselves into certain boxes, or describing our selves in a certain way, with specific aims in mind. Even if we aren’t consciously reflecting on our choices, we are writing our selves and our reality.

On a side note, I love the revised pain chart.