The data detective : ten easy rules to make sense of statistics / Tim Harford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harford, Tim, 1973- author.

Standardized Title:

How to make the world add up

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Statistics--Methodology.

Statistics.

Social sciences--Statistical methods.

Social sciences.

Physical Description:

323 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Riverhead Books, 2021.

Summary:

"Today we think statistics are the enemy, numbers used to mislead and confuse us. That's a mistake, Tim Harford says in The Data Detective. We shouldn't be suspicious of statistics-we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at heart, human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often "the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us." If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly-understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray-statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter. As "perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world" (New Statesman), Tim Harford is an expert at taking complicated ideas and untangling them for millions of readers. In The Data Detective, he uses new research in science and psychology to set out ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with new ideas that use virtues like patience, curiosity, and good sense to better understand ourselves and the world. As a result, The Data Detective is a big-idea book about statistics and human behavior that is fresh, unexpected, and insightful"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Rule One Search Your Feelings

Rule Two Ponder Your Personal Experience

Rule Three Avoid Premature Enumeration

Rule Four Step Back And Enjoy The View

Rule Five Get The Backstory

Rule Six Ask Who Is Missing

Rule Seven Demand Transparency When The Computer Says No

Rule Eight Don't Take Statistical Bedrock For Granted

Rule Nine Remember That Misinformation Can Be Beautiful, Too

Rule Ten Keep An Open Mind.

Notes:

"First published in Great Britain as How to make the world add up: ten rules for thinking differently about numbers by the Bridge Street Press...in 2020."--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-306) and index.

ISBN:

9780593084595

0593084594

OCLC:

1155708075

Publisher Number:

99988407377