Although statistics can explain events in the world, it can also be used deceive people into believing the wrong information. In How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1954) provides numerous examples where statistics can be used to trick the general public and they also provided ways where the reader is able to avoid being tricked by inaccurate statistics. It also explains how people could interpret statistics incorrectly because the information was given in a dishonest way. In each chapter, the book goes in depth about different parts of statistics and how people use them to fool people with information. For example in Chapter 2, Huff goes in depth about the word average and how people could be using different numbers when speaking about the “average” of a data set. Huff also helps the reader from being deceived by making them question what type of average is being used when being faced with information stating about the average of a data set. …show more content…
Normally when someone gives data, people assume it to be correct and trustworthy but this book made me realize that I should be skeptical with any information presented to me. For example, in chapter 5 Huff was explaining how people could manipulate graphs to portray what they want to show by simply changing the intervals of numbers on the x and y axis. If I was reading a paper that had the incorrect graph about Government Pay Rolls Stable, I would have honestly believed it because the government should be a reliable source. But Huff explains how people want to hide certain information by masking it in different ways. This aspect of the book made me want to question information that I deemed to be
He author also uses statistics to inform the readers with facts. For example he says, “If you’re like the typical owner, you’ll be pulling your phone out 80 times a day.” He uses statistics to inform and persuade the the
Statistics provides us with very useful tools and techniques that aide us in dealing with real world scenarios. I have been able to learn several useful concepts by studying statistics that can aide me in making rational and informed decisions that are supported by the analysis results. Statistics as a discipline is the application and development of various processes put in place to gather, interpret, and analyse the information. The quantification of biological, social, and scientific phenomenons, design and analysis of experiments and surveys, and application of
In the video "How Statistics Fool Juries," Oxford mathematician Peter Donnelly attempts to demonstrate through a number of examples how statistics, when viewed in a common manner, can be misunderstood and how this can have legal repercussions. Through a number of thought experiments, Donnelly provides the audience with examples of how seemingly simple statistics can be misinterpreted and how many more variables must be taken into account when calculating chance. Primarily he exposes the audience to the concept of relative difference, or the difference in likelihood between two possibilities in the same scenario. He then goes on to explain that without an understanding of this concept, many juries misunderstand statistics used in trials and very often convict people based on this faulty understanding.
What Did You Expect To Learn When You Picked Up The Book? To What Extent – And How Effectively – Were Your Expectations Met?
The writing style gave you a choice on what interesting subject you wanted to read, and also it gave you a preview of what the chapter was going to be about. The style of how it was written could also be a struggle for people. This book would not be recommended for people who wanted to stick to one specific subject; it would be a book for people who wanted an array of subjects. He does stick to one specific concept, which was bias. He has this subject scattered through the book, and they all mean different things. The experiments could be seen in positive light or negative, it depends on the type of reader you are. They can come out to be confusing but when you are able to play out the experiment it may be fun. The presentation of the book itself is an eye catcher, and maybe even the reading style will intrigue you to read it. This book is very intricate but you will not know if the information that is given will
• Provide at least two examples or problem situations in which statistics was used or could be used.
3. According to the authors, what are the “three simple steps to doing Statistics right?” 4. What
Statistics, facts, data, and comparisons are absorbing and challenging to present in a way that is anything other than, well, boring. For purposes of an informational presentation, the statistics are unavoidable. However, in this
the audience, and it is hard to put it to perspective. Therefore, a statistic is appealing to the
Statistics is defined as “the science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis, and numerical facts or data” (Dictionary.com,2012). Sometimes it is important to analyze statistical data in order to understand how something works or doesn’t work. In the case of American public education, there is tons of statistical data being thrown around, but what do all of these numbers really mean? How does this data help us? Although statistics provide clarity for constant scrutiny to the public education school system, they also help us to understand what were doing wrong in the classroom. In comparison of two different states, Nevada and Wisconsin lay at two very
The book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is a book that takes you through facts and statistics that seem reasonable and logical at the beginning but soon they dissect it and show you the true side of the statistic. The whole premise of the book is to show you the “hidden side of everything. (Cover page)” Like how dropping crime rate throughout the 90’s drastically dropped seemingly overnight. This drop was associated with better policing strategies, this idea is great for reassuring the public, but is it really true? Turns out it was probably closer linked to the legalizing of abortion. The authors of Freakonomics throughout the book think outside the box in order to show you
In his 2013 book, Naked Statistics, Charles Wheelan explains a field that is commonly seen, commonly applied, and commonly misinterpreted: statistics. Though statistical data is ubiquitous in daily life, valid statistical conclusions are not. Wheelan reveals that when data analysis is flawed or incomplete, faulty conclusions abound. Wheelan’s work uncovers statistics’ unscrupulous potential, but also makes a key distinction between deliberate misuse and careless misreading. However, his analysis is less successful in distinguishing common sense from poor judgement, a gap that enables the very statistical issues he describes to perpetuate themselves.
Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines, from the physical and social sciences to the humanities. Statistics are also used for making informed decisions and misused for other reasons in all areas of business and government. Statistical methods can be used to summarize or describe a collection of data; this is called descriptive statistics. In addition, patterns in the data may be modeled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the observations, and then used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied; this is called inferential statistics. Both
In How to Lie with Statistics (Huff, 1954), Darrel Huff deciphers statistical examples and explains the means of deception that statistics and statisticians sometimes use to relay false information. Huff also conveys an underlying message of don’t believe everything you’re told, something him and my mother have in common. At first glance, a reader might think that this book will teach people how to actually lie using statistics, but that is not the case. It gives the reader a glimpse or a behind the curtain view of how easily it is to be deceived using numbers and how it is slyly achieved. Ironically he calls the book How to Lie with Statistics almost to tease his audience that the content in this book is not as it appears. To my utmost surprise, I actually rather enjoyed this book. It was a fairly simple read that was filled with new information and showed me how to look closer at statistical figures in the future. The humor was spot on so much, so that I even chuckled aloud occasionally. For the icing on the cake, I even expanded my vocabulary to learn fun words such as rotogravure.
So while I never want to take a statistics course, and while statistics scientifically involves so many numbers and mathematical principles, I am now interested in seeing how statistics is different from what everyone has said. It is wonderful to think that everyone can be connected through these