|  | Author: Shin Takahashi
Buy New: $28.95
as of 11/24/2009 16:55 CST details
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 4616314
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Library Binding
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 215
ISBN: 1439587965
Dewey Decimal Number: 519.5
EAN: 9781439587966
ASIN: 1439587965
Publication Date: April 9, 2009
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 20
 A 'must' for any student trying to apply statistical calculations to reality February 14, 2009
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Any student anxious about statistics will find The Manga Guide to Statistics an outstanding guide: it covers various types of calculations, shows how to determine probability and coefficients linked to common concerns of students and everyday living, and is powered by quirky examples holding high interest, A 'must' for any student trying to apply statistical calculations to reality.
Charmed into learning stuff. February 4, 2009
Greg Peterson (Minneapolis, MN)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have never been a big manga fan, and I truly suck at math, statistic included. But I've always wanted to know at least a little math, and statistics seems to be among the more interesting areas (perhaps because of how stats can be abused in government, the marketplace, etc.). I have read "The Cartoon Guide to Statistics" and found it fun, useful book. But I think "Manga" is better. For one thing, as white Westerner, I was utterly charmed by the Japanese flair in the book. My favorite example is when the tutor told a recalcitrant Rui, "You dampen my spirits." I would love to think that somewhere in America we have a math tutor who would say such a thing. I doubt we do.
The art and narrative is relentlessly cute (in a way I approve of...after all, who doesn't love the Japanese gape-mouthed pillow cushion of a monster, Domo?). And the statistics instruction is, while kept basic enough, comprehensive enough to have made me feel like I was picking up valuable knowledge. There's probably nothing here that a real statistician would find compelling, but for a young person or an older person who's never properly learned any statistics, this book is the spoonful of plum wine that helps the standard deviations go down.
As to unadulterated usefulness, that might come in the last chapter and appendix, which demonstrates how an Excel spreadsheet can be used to figure out statistical data. Another reviewer commented that the longish-winded explanations the tutor gives to how statistics work, the formulae that are used to work them out, are unnecessary because most of those functions are easily accomplished with computers now. That's a fair point, but I disagree. I still think there is something importantly organically with connecting on an understanding level with what computer functions are up to that helps maintain the meaning of those functions for us better. I might liken it to photography--sure, a digital autofocus camera might effortlessly take better pictures than we could with a manual focus old Nikon SLR. But what we learn composing the hands-on way might make us understand and appreciate the product of technology all the more.
In this perhaps the book is just capturing something I imagine to be a flavor of Japan...a country with profound traditions, and incredible technological prowess. Even manga artwork seems to be a fusion of traditional minimalism with something very vanguard and hip. In other words, not only is "The Manga Guide to Statistics" a good work of pedagogy, but it's a darn fine work of pop art as well.
Simple way to learn February 3, 2009
Michael H. Light (Dallas, Texas)
This is a good book to go to for learning the fundamentals of statistics in a painless way. I wish that the exercises were longer. But this book was apparently meant to be a light overview, not really a textbook. It would complement a regular statistics course well. It's also good for people who want to brush up on the statistics they've forgotten.
 Manga + Statistics Lessons = Easy To Learn January 25, 2009
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
Manga is much more widely used in Japan for teaching than comic art is used here in the US. But, as manga and anime have become popular, it is only natural that their use as a learning aid would spread to here. /The Manga Guide to Statistics/ is the first of a series, combining story and art into lessons on different technical subjects. Here, Rui has a tutor teaching her statistics, to help her impress one of her father's employees. Using examples such as bowling scores, Raman noodle prices, or Rui's class test results, her tutor, Mr. Yamamoto, introduces her (and the reader) to data categorization, mean, median and averages, standard deviation and other elementary statistical concepts. There are plenty of examples, exercises and a short section at the end for using these skills with Excel. For students who have difficulty with math or statistics, this may be a good introduction, making the lessons more interesting and fun than using a standard text book.
Easy to read and understand January 20, 2009
Brendan G. McNew
This book was easier to understand than the textbook I used in my college course.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 20
|
|
|
