The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide To Understanding Numbers In The News, In Politics, And In Life (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is based on a popular British show called More or Less in which a writer and an economist try to teach the general public to make sense of the data that swamp us each day. For me, the most valuable part of the book involves the numerous examples of how data have been presented by journalists and politicians to support particular viewpoints. The specific topics covered include making sense of averages, the (over)use of performance measures, assessing risk, making sense of sampling, understanding data in general, statistical comparisons, and assessing causation. The authors provide much grist for the skeptical mill, all the while entertaining the reader (and perhaps even worrying some).The statistically minded reader won't learn much about data or data analysis, but all readers will learn a lot about how data are used and misused. The Numbers Game is a fascinating book about statistics in the media and how they can deceive, confuse and hopefully enlighten. The authors, who host a BBC radio show on the same topic, do a wonderful job collecting examples of statistics and how they can be misleading. Unfortunately, now I trust numbers in the media even less than I did, which wasn't much. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who reads or hears statistics in the media, which is just about everyone.
What do You think about The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide To Understanding Numbers In The News, In Politics, And In Life (2008)?
"The easiest way to say something shocking with figures is to be wrong."
—Jeva
Listened to the authors today on NPR
—Mrp727
bad, for people who are bad people
—montsepantaleoni
