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Truth, Lies & Statistics: How to Lie with 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. Written as a layman’s guide to lying, cheating and deceiving with data and statistics, there’s not a dull page in sight! Discover the exciting world of statistical cheating and persuasive misdirection. Get this book, TODAY!
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
49 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2017
61 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 20, 2019
If you know more on marketing than on statistics, this book is a great starter. I know many marketers deal with figures and charts on a daily basis without much understanding yet generating huge revenues for their stakeholders. If only they knew half of what's written in this book they will be not as fast as before but pretty doubtful and more precise.
The book is full of practical examples on data in everyday world, how and why to use that data, how to prepare the data and how to better understand reports, charts and results in general.
I held many analytical workshops in the past and in the future I will definitely use some of the great examples from this book. The next few in the series are already on my Want to Read shelf ;)
Note to the author: "9 out of 10 cats" is less confusing for the ordinary buyer than "220 out of 248 cats", which MIGHT be the case in the original research. Of course, I tend to think there were only 10 cats involved (or not more than 50), but you might still mention that interpolation to make the book more competent.
The book is full of practical examples on data in everyday world, how and why to use that data, how to prepare the data and how to better understand reports, charts and results in general.
I held many analytical workshops in the past and in the future I will definitely use some of the great examples from this book. The next few in the series are already on my Want to Read shelf ;)
Note to the author: "9 out of 10 cats" is less confusing for the ordinary buyer than "220 out of 248 cats", which MIGHT be the case in the original research. Of course, I tend to think there were only 10 cats involved (or not more than 50), but you might still mention that interpolation to make the book more competent.
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June 7, 2020After reading this book you will love statistics. After reading this book you can find truth and lie behind any data shown to you
January 16, 2018
Easy reading, unlike most statistics books, and useful.
March 22, 2018
A great introduction to statistics
Lee baker is an amazing storyteller with an additional skill- his prowess in data analysis and statistics. The book is a refreshing take that introduced the reader to the basic concepts of statistics without overloading them with information. Each concept explained with the help of a couple or more examples and some funny anecdotes make this little book a great read for anyone who want to be introduced to statistics or want to learn the basics of a new subject within an hour. I highly recommend this book.
Lee baker is an amazing storyteller with an additional skill- his prowess in data analysis and statistics. The book is a refreshing take that introduced the reader to the basic concepts of statistics without overloading them with information. Each concept explained with the help of a couple or more examples and some funny anecdotes make this little book a great read for anyone who want to be introduced to statistics or want to learn the basics of a new subject within an hour. I highly recommend this book.
February 18, 2018
That great observer of human behavior, Mark Twain, once noted that there were three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. In the century since Twain made that remark, the use (and frequent misuse) of statistics has become even more prevalent in our society, specifically in the realms of politics and marketing (two areas that really aren’t that dissimilar). Author Lee Baker, himself a statistician, has written a short but lively book, Truth, Lies & Statistics: How to Lie with Statistics, which helps readers to spot some of the most common fallacies, misuses, and deceptions associated with statistics.
Much like a magician explaining some of his tricks, Baker shows how unscrupulous marketing types manipulate their data in order to truthfully make statements like “80% of dentists surveyed recommend XYZ brand of toothpaste.” As Baker points out, statements of that nature can be literally true but very incomplete and highly slanted to produce a particular desired result. I won’t explain that particular bit of misdirection, but a similar example is the misuse of the word “average,” a word that has about a dozen different mathematical definitions. So, as Baker points out, if a multimillionaire moves into a middle class subdivision, depending on which definition you use, the “average” family wealth may change a great deal or not at all. Which definition someone uses, and the resulting “average wealth” that definition yields almost invariably tends to support the point a particular person is trying to make.
Although the science of statistics can be quite complex and well beyond the scope of a 40-page book, Baker includes little hard math in Truth, Lies, & Statistics, but he does explain a couple of key terms, “p-value” and “confidence interval” and, more important, what they mean when used in a statistical claim, and, even more important, what it means when someone fails to mention them. The book contains a number of examples, some of them quite recent, such as the dispute over the size of the crowd at President Trump’s inauguration. Others are more obscure, but even more fascinating, such as the story of the ship that sank on its initial launch because of a disastrous measurement error occurring during its construction. As the anecdote about the sunken ship illustrates, errors resulting from the misuse of statistics, whether willful manipulation by those promulgating the statistics or innocent misunderstandings by lay people, can have tragic consequences, such as the mistaken notion that various childhood vaccines caused autism, which led some well-meaning parents to needlessly expose their children to potentially deadly diseases.
I should point out that author Baker is English, so Truth, Lies, & Statistics uses English spelling conventions (ending words in –our instead of –or), and amounts of money are expressed as pounds instead of dollars. Further, some of the anecdotes and examples might be a bit unfamiliar for U.S. readers. However, the gist of what Baker is saying is easy to pick up, no matter which side of the Atlantic that a reader is located.
Truth, Lies, & Statistics is a breezy, inexpensive cautionary tale that can easily be read in under an hour. As such, it’s certainly no introductory course in statistics or a comprehensive look at the various fallacies associated with statistics (I’ve seen good books on the latter subject that were nearly ten times as long as Baker’s). But it should get readers examining a bit more carefully any time an advertisement or a politician throws out some statement involving a number and then claims that number to be definitive proof of the argument being made. In an era of fake news, it’s good to have Lee Baker as a guide to keep us on the lookout for fake statistics as well.
Much like a magician explaining some of his tricks, Baker shows how unscrupulous marketing types manipulate their data in order to truthfully make statements like “80% of dentists surveyed recommend XYZ brand of toothpaste.” As Baker points out, statements of that nature can be literally true but very incomplete and highly slanted to produce a particular desired result. I won’t explain that particular bit of misdirection, but a similar example is the misuse of the word “average,” a word that has about a dozen different mathematical definitions. So, as Baker points out, if a multimillionaire moves into a middle class subdivision, depending on which definition you use, the “average” family wealth may change a great deal or not at all. Which definition someone uses, and the resulting “average wealth” that definition yields almost invariably tends to support the point a particular person is trying to make.
Although the science of statistics can be quite complex and well beyond the scope of a 40-page book, Baker includes little hard math in Truth, Lies, & Statistics, but he does explain a couple of key terms, “p-value” and “confidence interval” and, more important, what they mean when used in a statistical claim, and, even more important, what it means when someone fails to mention them. The book contains a number of examples, some of them quite recent, such as the dispute over the size of the crowd at President Trump’s inauguration. Others are more obscure, but even more fascinating, such as the story of the ship that sank on its initial launch because of a disastrous measurement error occurring during its construction. As the anecdote about the sunken ship illustrates, errors resulting from the misuse of statistics, whether willful manipulation by those promulgating the statistics or innocent misunderstandings by lay people, can have tragic consequences, such as the mistaken notion that various childhood vaccines caused autism, which led some well-meaning parents to needlessly expose their children to potentially deadly diseases.
I should point out that author Baker is English, so Truth, Lies, & Statistics uses English spelling conventions (ending words in –our instead of –or), and amounts of money are expressed as pounds instead of dollars. Further, some of the anecdotes and examples might be a bit unfamiliar for U.S. readers. However, the gist of what Baker is saying is easy to pick up, no matter which side of the Atlantic that a reader is located.
Truth, Lies, & Statistics is a breezy, inexpensive cautionary tale that can easily be read in under an hour. As such, it’s certainly no introductory course in statistics or a comprehensive look at the various fallacies associated with statistics (I’ve seen good books on the latter subject that were nearly ten times as long as Baker’s). But it should get readers examining a bit more carefully any time an advertisement or a politician throws out some statement involving a number and then claims that number to be definitive proof of the argument being made. In an era of fake news, it’s good to have Lee Baker as a guide to keep us on the lookout for fake statistics as well.
April 25, 2023
A Minimalist Naive Viewpoint
This short book with a name grabbing name was written by a non statistician to sensationalize very obvious statistical nuances that may not purport to be sincere attempts to measure causal relationships and extrapolation traps in nature and the universe. No recipes are given to overcome these abuses when there are many remedies including Bayesian causal analysis, factor analysis, modified ANOVA and bootstrap methods. Also, redundant toy examples are given without much detail for the layman. Ask a professional or academic statistician instead.
This short book with a name grabbing name was written by a non statistician to sensationalize very obvious statistical nuances that may not purport to be sincere attempts to measure causal relationships and extrapolation traps in nature and the universe. No recipes are given to overcome these abuses when there are many remedies including Bayesian causal analysis, factor analysis, modified ANOVA and bootstrap methods. Also, redundant toy examples are given without much detail for the layman. Ask a professional or academic statistician instead.
August 5, 2018
Hi Lee Baker, your sounds are made practical astounding about statistics especially on confidence interval. I am doing research on "indoor air quality in automobile cabins". From your views i concluded myself whatever data going to fetch it should be true, not running to significant or measurement bias.
June 3, 2020
How to lie with statistics talks about ways in which data can be manipulated (by innocence or for seeking one's way) and presented in different forms. The book talks about methods to avoid falling in the traps of "percentages" or "absolute values". A good introduction to statistical fallacies and how to question them.
September 20, 2018
The book is very short (I read it from cover to cover on an flight before take-off) and the humor is overdone. It was also very light on content and I was already familiar with all the examples used in the book
March 21, 2019
A serious book written in humorous manner
I would have never ever believed that reading a book on statistics could be fun. This book certainly ranks as one of the best that I have read (am I being guilty here of wilful omission?).
I would have never ever believed that reading a book on statistics could be fun. This book certainly ranks as one of the best that I have read (am I being guilty here of wilful omission?).
November 27, 2022
A very short, humorous look at how statistics can be used to mislead an audience. Data geeks will appreciate the jokes, and may well pass their book over to someone else saying, "Read this bit" to back up their argument.
February 21, 2018
Short, easy to understand and written in a humorous voice.
Review on my blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/lee-baker-t...
Review on my blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/lee-baker-t...
November 29, 2018
Entertaining and full of good examples/definitions that I can present to students.
January 20, 2019
Good book to read .. interesting facts
Good short read..especially if u are interested in statistics. Bias is always with us.. the concept was well explained too
Good short read..especially if u are interested in statistics. Bias is always with us.. the concept was well explained too
April 16, 2019
Wish it was longer
Liked it a lot, I wished it was longer and touched all different concepts of statistics such as chi-square etc.
Liked it a lot, I wished it was longer and touched all different concepts of statistics such as chi-square etc.
May 29, 2019
Nice little book on demystifying how marketers misuse and abuse statistics to pull wool over the eyes of uninformed consumers.
August 29, 2020
Very good if you want a basic insight into how data can be manipulated to show what you want it to. Would recommend to anyone starting a social science or psychology degree!
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May 13, 2022Some interesting bits
October 27, 2023
A concise explanation, with lighthearted storytelling, of the fundamental concepts in statistics (and every-day political agenda.)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews