The problem with the statistics, however, was that it was based on a biased sample, and like many sophisticated statistics, “it was guilty of semi attachment: It assumed that newspaper space given to crime reporting is a measure of crime rate.” Unfortunately, averages, trends, and graphs are not always what they seem. When author Darrell Huff moved from Iowa to California, he remembers his father-in-law stating “There’s a mighty lot of crime around here.” And according to the newspaper his father-in-law was reading, there was. As you read, you’ll learn when it is statistically safest to drive, how to create the best sample in a study, and why counting all the beans is simply too hard.
Throughout How to Lie With Statistics, Darrell Huff shares the tricks writers use in statistics to their advantage. At first glance, numbers seem credible and trustworthy, but if you take a deeper look, you might find that there is more than meets the eye. Wells understood the importance of understanding this information by stating, “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” Unfortunately, many in society don’t have a strong sense of statistical thinking, and writers take advantage of this by using the necessary vocabulary and numbers to dupe their readers. We are given averages, percentages, and more, and are simply expected to trust these numbers without question. Today our news is bombarded with statistical information. Learn to Identify How Companies Use Statistics to Deceive and Manipulate the Public
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