How to Lie with Statistics |  | Author: Darrell Huff
Creator: Irving Geis
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
List Price: $11.95
Buy Used: $3.52
as of 11/21/2009 09:24 CST details
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Seller: owlsbooks
Rating:  102 reviews
Sales Rank: 5074
Media: Paperback
Pages: 144
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 0393310728
Dewey Decimal Number: 519.5
EAN: 9780393310726
ASIN: 0393310728
Publication Date: October 17, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
"There is terror in numbers," writes Darrell Huff in How to Lie with Statistics. And nowhere does this terror translate to blind acceptance of authority more than in the slippery world of averages, correlations, graphs, and trends. Huff sought to break through "the daze that follows the collision of statistics with the human mind" with this slim volume, first published in 1954. The book remains relevant as a wake-up call for people unaccustomed to examining the endless flow of numbers pouring from Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and everywhere else someone has an axe to grind, a point to prove, or a product to sell. "The secret language of statistics, so appealing in a fact-minded culture, is employed to sensationalize, inflate, confuse, and oversimplify," warns Huff. Although many of the examples used in the book are charmingly dated, the cautions are timeless. Statistics are rife with opportunities for misuse, from "gee-whiz graphs" that add nonexistent drama to trends, to "results" detached from their method and meaning, to statistics' ultimate bugaboo--faulty cause-and-effect reasoning. Huff's tone is tolerant and amused, but no-nonsense. Like a lecturing father, he expects you to learn something useful from the book, and start applying it every day. Never be a sucker again, he cries! Even if you can't find a source of demonstrable bias, allow yourself some degree of skepticism about the results as long as there is a possibility of bias somewhere. There always is. Read How to Lie with Statistics. Whether you encounter statistics at work, at school, or in advertising, you'll remember its simple lessons. Don't be terrorized by numbers, Huff implores. "The fact is that, despite its mathematical base, statistics is as much an art as it is a science." --Therese Littleton
Product Description
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 fool rather than inform.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 102
 Tools to combat information overload October 13, 2009
Lon Roberts - Author "SPC for Right-Brain Thinkers" (Plano, TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a first of a kind classic that describes some of the more common ways that quantitative data and graphs are used, knowingly or unknowingly, to misrepresent reality. Even though the examples are a bit dated this does not diminish the value of the book. If anything, I would argue that the book is more relevant now than it was when Huff wrote it 50 years ago. Why so? Because in this crazy-busy world in which we live, on the whole we are more susceptible than ever to accepting statistical data, carte blanche, no questions asked. This state of affairs is an unfortunate reality that unscrupulous advertisers, politicians, special interest groups, and others are well aware of and continue to take advantage of.
Finally, don't be dissuaded by those who criticize the book for being light on statistical theory. It was not written for statisticians.
 Seriously watered down October 4, 2009
Radek (USMC)
There is nothing in this book that you won't find in a begining statistics course. The author gives lots of definitions of the most commonly used words and then provides examples. The reading is light and easy and sometimes amusing. However, it is a flimsy paperback made from low quality paper. There are LOTS of typos in this book. Definitely not worth $12.
A classic September 22, 2009
Robin (San Clemente, CA United States)
This book made a huge impression on me in college in 1980, and I have kept my copy to this day. I quote from it all the time when people use numbers in a gullible fashion. In this day and age, when the numbers just keep getting bigger, not being cowed by statistics and mathematics seems a very worthwhile skill.
 Still waiting... September 20, 2009
M. Buzby
0 out of 11 found this review helpful
It's been a month now and I still haven't received this book. Links to contact the seller weren't working a week ago so that's a little odd, but I'm guessing my order didn't get processed for some reason.
Invaluable August 10, 2009
J. Shurin (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Darrell Huff's classic text is an invaluable guide to anyone that brushes up against statistics. And, given that we all watch the news / read a paper / listen to our friends at the water cooler / make powerpoint presentations / listen to a salesman... that's all of us.
Huff goes through all the little lies and explains how, with some creative thinking, numbers can be bent to any purpose. This isn't just a manual on how to deceive - it is an education to turn the reader into a critical audience. Huff's not teaching us how to lie, he's teaching us how to get to the truth. (That's a bit of a soaring statement, but it works - if we all had the sense & the knowledge to ask the right questions, we'd be living in a much nicer, more orderly world).
Huff also writes to the lowest common denominator. This isn't meant to sound offensive - instead, the book is aimed to bring anyone - no matter how numeraphobic (is that a word?) - up to the level of proficiency. His timeless doodles and illustrations are worth the cost of purchase alone, and his anecdotes are brilliant. This is 'statistics' as taught to you by your mate at the bar, not in a dusty classroom.
A must-read. I've assigned it to everyone at the office, a move which has paid off ten-fold... (well, that's the mean measurement, not the median...)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 102
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