Damned Lies and Statistics

Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists

By: Joel Best

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Does the number of children gunned down double each year? Does anorexia kill 150,000 young women annually? Do white males account for only a sixth of new workers? Startling statistics shape our thinking about social issues. But all too often, these numbers are wrong. This book is a lively guide to spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers. Damned Lies and Statistics is essential listening for everyone who reads or listens to the news, for students, and for anyone who relies on statistical information to understand social problems.

Joel Best bases his discussion on a wide assortment of intriguing contemporary issues that have garnered much recent media attention, including abortion, cyberporn, homelessness, the Million Man March, teen suicide, the U.S. census, and much more. Using examples from The New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major newspapers and television programs, he unravels many fascinating examples of the use, misuse, and abuse of statistical information.

In this book Best shows us exactly how and why bad statistics emerge, spread, and come to shape policy debates. He recommends specific ways to detect bad statistics, and shows how to think more critically about "stat wars," or disputes over social statistics among various experts. Understanding this book does not require sophisticated mathematical knowledge; Best discusses the most basic and most easily understood forms of statistics, such as percentages, averages, and rates.

This accessible book provides an alternative to either naively accepting the statistics we hear or cynically assuming that all numbers are meaningless. It shows how anyone can become a more intelligent, critical, and empowered consumer of the statistics that inundate both the social sciences and our media-saturated lives.

©2001 Paul Best (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

information for a fake news age

Non biased and Essential for making and supporting fact based arguments! Gives clear and direct examples of how numbers are twisted to support agenda. Loved this book!

Loved it

Joel Best's book puts language around statistics to give readers a basic vocabulary of statistical analysis and an awareness that statistics are not sacrosanct. I wish it were longer and jam-packed with additional examples that would really take you by surprise. But then it would be Freakonomics.

Great book that makes you want more...

Only wish there were more. Because the topic is so important, it deserves a longer treatment. Very satisfied with information presented, but was craving more.

How Stats Can Be Manipulated to Prove Anything

This is one of those books everyone should read—but would anyone ever get elected again? Author Joel Best shows you exactly how stats can be manipulated to prove anything.

If every statistic released were to be believed, then the whole country would be sick, pregnant, violent, dead, or addicted to porn. Using examples from the New York Times, the Washington Post, U.S. Census, and other major media outlets, Best unravels the many fascinating examples of the misuse and abuse of statistical information.

There are no innocents.

My stats professor used to quote Mark Twain to every class: “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It's possible to twist statistics to say virtually anything; for every study out there that makes one claim, there's another that "proves" the exact opposite. How can you know which one is true? Best lets you know how to spot the BS and wade through fraud studies and stats.

Brilliant

Well performed by the narrator, and the subject made extremely interesting. Had me laughing out loud at time with some fantastic turns of phrase. Very informative, and an aid to critical thinking.