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 results are derived from the figures, and points up the countless number of dodges which are used to fool rather than to inform.
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"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
Review
“Mr. Huff's lively, human-interest treatment of the dry-as-bones subject of statistics is a timely tonic. . . . This book needed to be written, and makes its points in an entertaining and highly readable manner.” (Management Review )
“Illustrator and author pool their considerable talents to provide light lively reading and cartoon far which will entertain, really inform, and take the wind out of many an overblown statistical sail.” (Library Journal )
“A pleasantly subversive little book, Guaranteed to undermine your faith in the almighty statistic.” (Atlantic )
“Illustrator and author pool their considerable talents to provide light lively reading and cartoon far which will entertain, really inform, and take the wind out of many an overblown statistical sail.” (Library Journal )
“A pleasantly subversive little book, Guaranteed to undermine your faith in the almighty statistic.” (Atlantic )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
88 of 90 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book, written in 1954, is just as pertinent today (perhaps even more so, as it's so easy to acquire statistics due to our current technology) -- Darrell Huff gives people the tools to talk back to statistics. Though there is a little bit about deliberate deception, in such things as "The Gee-Whiz Graph" (about how the graphical display of statistics can be twisted so that one can get any desired result, though the stats aren't changed), the meat of the book is regarding sound statistical reasoning, something that people today really need to consider.
For example, every person who listens to the latest survey showing a correlation between certain food and certain health problems or benefits should read "Post Hoc Rides Again", in which people erroneously leap from statistical correlation to a cause-and-effect relationship. An example given in the book is a report in which it was found that smokers had lower grades in college; ergo, said the researcher, smokers wishing to improve their grades should quit smoking! Of course, a statistical study showing that there's a "significant" relation between smoking and low grades doesn't show which causes the other -- perhaps educational failure draws people to smoke! My own theory would be that the =type= of person who is given to smoking is also given to not doing well in school; instead of cause and effect, one has a correlation from a shared, third (and unnamed) cause. One comes across these fallacies in the news =every=day=; I've been reading my online news, and in the science section I've already found two suspicious cause-and-effect reports. As Huff notes, it's not the statistics which are in question -- it's how they're used.
Some of the figures and examples used are funny due to their datedness (I love the picture of the surveyor asking a doctor what brand of cigarette he smokes, and the cigar-smoking baby just makes me smirk). It seems to me if you multiply every monetary amount by 10, you might get a better idea as to what it's worth (I don't know what it is actually worth, as I don't know what the inflation from 1954 is (another suspicious statistic)).
More to the point, with the help of this book, you need not have blind faith in the numbers or disgustedly throw all stats away. The mathematics of statistics guarantees them to have great power, as long as you know how to interpret them correctly. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that more common sense than math is involved in this book, but the truth is most modern abuse of numbers happens well after the numbers have been calculated. Of course, once you talk back to statistics people may think you're crazy; at least you won't be fleeced by false reasoning.
55 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Statisticians hate the old adage "Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics", but statistical methods do have that reputation with the general public. There are many excellent accounts, some even understandable to laymen that explain the proper ways to analyze, study and report the analysis of statistical data. Huff's famous account is illustrative and well written. It gives the average guy a look at how statistics is commonly misused (either unintentionally or deliberately) in the popular media. Graphical abuses are particularly instructive. Readers should recognize that statistical methods are scientific and with proper education anyone should be able to recognize the good statisticians from the charletons. For now Huff's book is still a good starting place. As a statistician I hate the public image portrayed in the quote above. However, I do sometimes have fun with it myself. As I write this review I am in my office wearing a sweatshirt that reads "When all else fails manipulate the data."
A modern book by a consulting statistician on the same topic is "Common Errors in Statistics and How to Avoid Them" by Phil Good. If you enjoy this book take a look at Good's book also.
A modern book by a consulting statistician on the same topic is "Common Errors in Statistics and How to Avoid Them" by Phil Good. If you enjoy this book take a look at Good's book also.
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although "How to Lie with Statistics" is a bit dated (having been written in the 1950's), the principles it puts forth are still valid today--if not moreso than ever--and the material is delivered in clear, concise, and even entertaining anecdotes and illustrations.
How often do you hear statistics bandied about in the media or used to try to prove some special-interest point? "Of course" the people quoting the figures must be right with numbers on their sides... until you look at just how those numbers were arrived at.
This book isn't truly a guide on how to lie with statistics, but it is an excellent text that informs the reader both how others will lie to them using statistics and on how to interpret the validity of purported statistical data.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
statistics and critical thinking
Darrell Huff's collection of observations is written in 1954, yet it is still lively and useful. We consume every day a lot of facts, figures, we inspect different graphs and... Read more
Published 10 days ago by martin czech
Practically required reading
"GOV'T PAYROLLS UP!" shouts a newspaper headline, with the graph to prove it.
"GOV'T PAYROLLS STABLE!" insists a contradictory headline, with its own confirmatory graph. Read more
"GOV'T PAYROLLS STABLE!" insists a contradictory headline, with its own confirmatory graph. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Allen Smalling
Less a review, more a statement
As I read and watch the endless political rantings from advocates on all sides in this, the political season, my thoughts turn to this book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gregory
Interesting book
Outdated in examples, but not in content. This book, very easy to read, is wonderfully straightforward in its explanation of how people twist statistics to say whatever they want. Read more
Published 5 months ago by John Public
How to Lie with Statistics
How to Lie with Statistics, written by Darrell Huff, was written with the intent of illustrating how deceitful statistics can be and how easily authors of such deceitful claims can... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Spencer
A Classic on Misuse of Statistics!
"How to lie with Statistics" adds no more bewilderment to an already perplexing world of numbers. Author's advice is pretty simple and easy to comprehend for professionals and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by amitesh
Great information, presented in a fun read, even for novices!
Despite having been written over half a century ago, "How to Lie with Statistics" is a timeless look at how statistics have been used to mislead or draw unsubstantiated... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Matthew Jacobson
Learn how to tell when a statistic is lying
How To Lie With Statistics was originally written and published by statistician Darrell Huff over 50 years but the message of the book is still timely: people and organizations can... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Akil
The BEST General Introduction to Statistical Thinking
I bought the original edition of this book (26th printing) in the early 1970s, when it was required for an "introduction to statistics for the liberal arts" course in college. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Graeme Payne
Should be on your reading bucket list
A short concise work that demonstrates how the careless use of statistics is often used to influence our thinking. I recommend this without hesitation.
Published 9 months ago by Herman
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"THE AVERAGE Yaleman, Class of '24," Time magazine noted once, commenting on something in the New York Sun, "makes $25,111 a year." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
semiattached figure Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bureau of the Census, New York City, Old Gold New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
"THE AVERAGE Yaleman, Class of '24," Time magazine noted once, commenting on something in the New York Sun, "makes $25,111 a year." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
semiattached figure Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bureau of the Census, New York City, Old Gold New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 6
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- Business Statistics (Core Business Program) by E. T. Martin in Front Matter
- Life on the Mississippi (Signet Classics) by Mark Twain on page 142
- Elementary statistical methods (International series in decision processes) by Helen Mary Walker in Front Matter
- Cass Timberlane by Sinclair Lewis on page 138
- Gauging Public Opinion by Hadley Cantril in Front Matter
See all 6 books this book cites
- Statistics and Society (Statistics: A Series of Textbooks and Monographs) by Federer on 6 pages
- Introductory Statistics and Random Phenomena: Uncertainty, Complexity and Chaotic Behavior in Engineering and Science (Statistics for Industry and Technology) by Manfred Denker on page 9, page 53, and page 389
- Statistics for Social Change by Lucy Horwitz on page 39, page 178, and page 307
- Business Statistics Demystified by Steven M. Kemp on page 9, and page 108
- Practical Statistics for Astronomers (Cambridge Observing Handbooks for Research Astronomers) by J. V. Wall in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 100 books citing this book
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