How To Lie With Statistics

If you want to outsmart a crook, learn his tricks—Darrell Huff explains exactly how in the classic How to Lie with Statistics. From distorted graphs and biased samples to misleading averages, there are countless statistical dodges that lend cover to anyone with an ax to grind or a product to sell. With abundant examples and illustrations, Darrell Huff’s lively and engaging primer clarifies the basic principles of statistics and explains how they’re used to present information in honest and not-so-honest ways. Now even more indispensable in our data-driven world than it was when first published, How to Lie with Statistics is the book that generations of readers have relied on to keep from being fooled.

Darrell Huff runs the gamut of every popularly used type of statistic, probes such things as the sample study, the tabulation method, the interview technique, or the way the results are derived from the figures, and points up the countless number of dodges which are used to fool rather than inform.

'A great introduction to a crucial topic' Bill Gates 'Perhaps the most popular book on statistics ever published ... It's a marvel ... gave me a peek behind the curtain of statistical manipulation, showing me how the swindling was done so that I would not be fooled again' Tim Harford In 1954, Darrell Huff decided enough was enough. Fed up with politicians, advertisers and journalists using statistics to sensationalise, inflate, confuse, oversimplify and - on occasion - downright lie, he decided to shed light on their ill-informed and sneaky ways. How to Lie with Statistics is the result - the definitive and hilarious primer in the ways statistics are used to deceive. With over one and half million copies sold around the world, it has delighted generations of readers with its cheeky takes on the ins and outs of samples, averages, errors, graphs and indexes. And in the modern world of big data and misinformation, Huff remains the perfect guide through the maze of facts and figures that are designed to make us believe anything. 'A hilarious exploration of mathematical mendacity.... Every time you pick it up, what happens? Bang goes another illusion!' The New York Times 'A pleasantly subversive little book guaranteed to undermine your faith in the almighty statistic' Atlantic

Do you want more free book summaries like this? Download our app for free at https://www.QuickRead.com/App and get access to hundreds of free book and audiobook summaries. Learn to identify how companies use statistics to deceive and manipulate the public. Today our news is bombarded with statistical information. We are given averages, percentages, and more, and are simply expected to trust these numbers without question. H.G. Wells understood the importance of understanding this information by stating, “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” Unfortunately, many in society don’t have a strong sense of statistical thinking, and writers take advantage of this by using the necessary vocabulary and numbers to dupe their readers. At first glance, numbers seem credible and trustworthy, but if you take a deeper look, you might find that there is more than meets the eye. Throughout How to Lie With Statistics, Darrell Huff shares the tricks writers use in statistics to their advantage. As you read, you’ll learn when it is statistically safest to drive, how to create the best sample in a study, and why counting all the beans is simply too hard.

Explains in the ways in which the laws of probability may be applied to political forecasting, gambling, and the weather

How to Lie with Numbers, Stats & Graphs is a book that contains two of our best sellers – and by far our funniest! In this eye-opening book, award-winning statistician and author Lee Baker uncovers the key tricks of the trade used by politicians, corporations and other statistical conmen to deceive, hoodwink and otherwise dupe the unwary. Blurb: Truth, Lies & Statistics Pirates, cats, Mexican lemons and North Carolina lawyers. Cheese consumption, margarine and drowning by falling out of fishing boats. This book has got it all. A roller coaster of a book in 8 witty chapters, this might just be the most entertaining statistics book you’ll read this year. Did you know that pirates caused global warming, and that a statistical lie gave rise to one of the fastest growing religions on the planet? Probably not – you might have missed the memo that day. Did you also know that organic food is the real cause of autism, and that Mexican lemons are a major cause of deaths on American roads? They’re true, honest – and this book has got the stats to prove it. In this eye-opening book, award winning statistician and author Lee Baker uncovers the key tricks of the trade used by politicians, corporations and other statistical conmen to deceive, hoodwink and otherwise dupe the unwary. Like how the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer attempted to persuade us that 5 lots of 10 make 150, or how the President of the United States tried to convince us that 420,000 is a larger number than 782,000. Nice try boys, but we were awake that day! In his trademark sardonic style, the author reveals the secrets of how the statistical hustlers manipulate and misrepresent data for political or commercial gain – and often get away with it. Blurb: Graphs Don't Lie Sarah Palin, abortions, global warming and Usain Bolt. The CEO of Apple, 35 trillion gun deaths in 1995, Fox News and 193%. This book has got scandals galore! With 9 witty chapters taking you on a roller coaster tour of graphical lies, pictorial deceits and pie charts of mayhem, this might just be the most entertaining book about graphs you’ll read this year. Did you know that between them, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney enjoyed a total of 193% support from Republican candidates in the 2012 US primaries? It must be true – it was on a pie chart broadcast on Fox News. Did you also know that the number 34 is smaller than 14, and zero is much bigger than 22? Honest, it’s true, it was published in a respectable national newspaper after the 2017 UK General Election. There can’t have been any kind of misdirection here because they were all shown on a pie chart. In this astonishing book, award winning statistician and author Lee Baker uncovers how politicians, the press, corporations and other statistical conmen use graphs and charts to deceive their unwitting audience. Like how a shocking, and yet seemingly innocuous statement as “Every year since 1950, the number of children gunned down has doubled”, meant that there should have been at least 35 trillion gun deaths in 1995 alone, the year the quote was printed in a reputable journal. Or how an anti-abortion group made their point by trying to convince us all that 327,000 is actually a larger number than 935,573. Nice try, but no cigar – we weren’t born yesterday. In his trademark sardonic style, the author reveals the secrets of how the statistical hustlers use graphs and charts to manipulate and misrepresent for political or commercial gain – and often get away with it. Written as a layman’s guide to lying, cheating and deceiving with data, statistics and graphs, in this book there’s not a dull page in sight! And there are elephants too… Discover the exciting world of lying with data, statistics and graphs. Get this book, TODAY!

This open access textbook provides the background needed to correctly use, interpret and understand statistics and statistical data in diverse settings. Part I makes key concepts in statistics readily clear. Parts I and II give an overview of the most common tests (t-test, ANOVA, correlations) and work out their statistical principles. Part III provides insight into meta-statistics (statistics of statistics) and demonstrates why experiments often do not replicate. Finally, the textbook shows how complex statistics can be avoided by using clever experimental design. Both non-scientists and students in Biology, Biomedicine and Engineering will benefit from the book by learning the statistical basis of scientific claims and by discovering ways to evaluate the quality of scientific reports in academic journals and news outlets.

We’ve been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we’re wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? What if we have the power—and more, the duty—to change society for the better? We do. And our very nature inclines us to do so. That’s the provocative argument Peter Corning makes in The Fair Society. Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, Corning shows that we have an innate sense of fairness. While these impulses can easily be subverted by greed and demagoguery, they can also be harnessed for good. Corning brings together the latest findings from the behavioral and biological sciences to help us understand how to move beyond the Madoffs and Enrons in our midst in order to lay the foundation for a new social contract—a Biosocial Contract built on a deep understanding of human nature and a commitment to fairness. He then proposes a sweeping set of economic and political reforms based on three principles of fairness—equality, equity, and reciprocity—that together could transform our society and our world. At this crisis point for capitalism, Corning reveals that the proper response to bank bailouts and financial chicanery isn’t to get mad—it’s to get fair.