How to Lie with Statistics

by Darrell Huff, Irving Geis (Illustrator)

Overview

Over Half a Million Copies Sold--an Honest-to-Goodness Bestseller

Darrell Huff runs the gamut of every popularly used type of statistic, probes such things as the sample study, the tabulation method, the interview technique, or the way the results are derived from the figures, and points up the countless number of dodges which are used to full rather than to inform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393070873
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	484,663
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Darrell Huff lives in Carmel, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ..... 6
Introduction ..... 7
Chapter 1: The Sample with the Built-in Bias ..... 11
Chapter 2: The Well-Chosen Average ..... 27
Chapter 3: The Little Figures That Are Not There ..... 37
Chapter 4: Much Ado about Practically Nothing ..... 53
Chapter 5: The Gee-Whiz Graph ..... 60
Chapter 6: The One-Dimensional Picture ..... 66
Chapter 7: The Semiattached Figure ..... 74
Chapter 8: Post Hoc Rides Again ..... 87
Chapter 9: How to Statisticulate ..... 100
Chapter 10: How to Talk Back to a Statistic ..... 122

Editorial Reviews

A 1954 classic that continues to dispel false beliefs and inform the statistically naive. Huff's direct and witty style exposes how advertisers, government and the media mislead their audiences through the misuse of statistics. Huff then explains how the reader can see through the smoke and mirrors to get to the real meaning--if any--of what is presented. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"A hilarious exploration of mathematical mendacity.… Every time you pick it up, what happens? Bang goes another illusion!"

New York Times

"A pleasantly subversive little book guaranteed to undermine your faith in the almighty statistic."

Atlantic