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How to Lie With Statistics

How to Lie With Statistics

List Price: $11.95
Your Price: $9.08
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A "must have" book for any intelligent reader's library.
Review: This book isn't about teaching statistics, it's about understanding how statistics can be, and are abused.

Be skeptical.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Informative of media tactics, but not statistically accurate
Review: It's a cute book, although utterly misleading. The Atlantic wrote: "A pleasantly subversive little book, guaranteed to undermine your faith in the almighty statistic."

The fact of the matter is that when proper, statistically sound data gathering and analysis methods are employed, the statistics not only do not lie, but they also reveal the nature and extent of the errors inherent in the results.

I know - among other things, I'm a professsional statistician.

In fact, it was my profession in statistics that steered me into network analysis, which is a statistician's dream world. Large corporations must figure out where the bottlenecks reside, and how to combat them in the most cost-effective, time-valued, long-term manner.

To do this properly, it takes an individual who knows Finance, Statistics, and Networks.

Bottom lie: Statistics themselves don't lie. However, the improper use of statistics can lead to erroneous conclusions.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Vital Information for Consumers, not Mathematicians
Review: This book in simple language teaches basic critical analysis and thoughtful consideration of the kind of statistics and graphs that consumers of modern media are presented with every day. It would be fantastic required reading at the high school level, as it shows exactly where and how those statistics can be presented in such a manner as to make one's case stronger than it really is. It's also a fun and easy read.

No, statisticians and mathematicians probably wouldn't learn much. I'm a scientist with a Ph.D. though, and keep a copy in my office because I work in a business world where too many PowerPoints make use of exactly the kind of misleading presentation techniques described in the title of this book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not much to it
Review: It discussed statistics, I guess, but it didn't discuss anything that would be taught in a college statistics course.

I was hoping to be provided with material on how to calculate and come up with something statistically. It only talked about people misusing numbers.

I think that most high-school students are likely to already have most of the information provided in the book. I am 35 and was mostly disappointed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Entertaining, easy read, but a bit shallow
Review: For the mathematically or statistically savvy, there's nothing new here, but it is an entertaining read.

Half the fun is in the examples from the 50's. Seems that advertising hasn't changed much since then.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: Someone once said "there are three kinds of liars: liars, damn liars, and statisticians."

I read this book in high school, and it shaped my judgement of the news media, business, and advertising ever since. Never trust the numbers without knowing their basis, and remember: a statistician is the type of guy who would put his head in an oven, and his feet in a bucket of ice, and say that, on average, he felt fine.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A clear and humerous look at how logic is used illogically.
Review: This book is so good that I've loaned it out to others on three seperate occassions (to students who raved about it)and haven't gotten any of the copies back. I provided copies to my children as they entered middle school so they could gain a clearer picture of what the numbers in the newspaper meant. It's a clear and humerous look at how we, as a society, tend to use logic in the most illogical ways. That "numbers never lie" is a myth laid to rest. While the examples are old (I did own the original at one point)the concepts they illustrate are still pertinent today. Written in an easily understood format, it also takes the "fear of statistics" out of the math-phobic. A great book to have upon the shelf as a ready reference.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great, but not up-to-date
Review: This is a great book. It does however have at least one SERIOUS short coming. The figures are very out of date. It would be nice if the examples were taken from the 90's or at least the 80's. Most of the statistics in this book are from the 40's and 50's. Good general information but could use some additional updating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Statistics could be your best friend, or worst enemy
Review: When is an average not an average ? Why is the impressing increase in that graph actually insignificant and why is the front slice of a bar chart the best ? After reading this, you realize that no such thing exists as objective data. The saddest part about this book is that so many years after its original publication you can find examples of the worst offenses every day in the newspaper and on T.V.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A "must have" book!!
Review: This is by far one of the best books written on statistics. If you want to learn how statistics can be manipulated, then this book is for you. The best part about it is it's written in plain and simple English, so you don't need any background in statistics to understand the content. It's funny and entertaining to read, with practical examples with full explanations. I have recommended this book to many people, including statisticians


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