Misinterpret

Statistics are easy to misinterpret.

"Tom, you do know this is a public forum, don't you? Throwing a hissy fit because people happened to misinterpret your Facebook post makes you seem controlling and humourless, and more or less guarantees still more mocking responses."

It's easy to misinterpret the actions and intentions of others.

It's easy to misinterpret things when they're taken out of context.

I tend to misinterpret things.

You don't even know the other side's arguments, so of course you're going to misinterpret everything they do.

For Ralph, any encouragement is too much. When Lisa gives Ralph a valentine bearing that locomotive pun that so affected The Simpsons’ showrunner, Ralph misinterprets the gesture as a genuine display of romantic interest rather than a gesture of pity from a thoughtful young geek to a friendless goober.