The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

Product Description
From “one of the great (greatest?) contemporary popular writers on economics” (Tyler Cowen) comes a smart, lively, and encouraging rethinking of how to use statistics.
Today we think statistics are the enemy, numbers used to mislead and confuse us. That’s a mistake, Tim Harford says in
The Data Detective. We shouldn’t be suspicious of statistics—we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at heart, human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often “the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us.” If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly—understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray—statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter.
As “perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world” (
New Statesman), Tim Harford is an expert at taking complicated ideas and untangling them for millions of readers. In
The Data Detective, he uses new research in science and psychology to set out ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with new ideas that use virtues like patience, curiosity, and good sense to better understand ourselves and the world. As a result,
The Data Detective is a big-idea book about statistics and human behavior that is fresh, unexpected, and insightful.
Review
Praise for The Data Detective: “Lively, crystal-clear, and insightful explanations of how data are increasingly affecting our lives— a phenomenon that every educated person should understand.” —Steven Pinker, author of
Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
“[Harford] expertly guides us through the many ways in which data can trick us. . . . Though numbers are at the core of
The Data Detective, it’s emotion that wields . . . power, affecting not only how we respond to data but also how we absorb it in the first place.” —
The Wall Street Journal
“Harford is right to say that statistics can be used to illuminate the world with clarity and precision. They can help remedy our human fallibilities.” —
The New Yorker
“
The Data Detective is sure to be another success from Harford, and is a powerful tool, especially in the current climate, one that will give readers the confidence to delve into data and statistics in a new and meaningful way.” —
Booklist
“The author argues convincingly, based on his experience and research, that statistics should be seen as a tool that can help us understand the world. . . .
The Data Detective comes at the right time: we face an onslaught of statistics on critical issues. . . . a must for anyone who is curious about how to make sense of all the information about this complex world in which we live.” —
Finance and Development
“One of the most wonderful collections of stories that I have read in a long time . . . fascinating.” —Steven B. Levitt, coauthor of
Freakonomics
“Few people write about social science with the clarity and wit of Tim Harford. If you’re staggered by statistics or daunted by data, this entertaining romp of a book is essential reading.” —Daniel H. Pink, author of
When and
Drive
“Nobody makes the statistics of everyday life more fascinating and enjoyable than Tim Harford.” —Bill Bryson, author of
The Body
“Tim Harford is one of my favorite writers in the world. His storytelling is gripping but never overdone, his intellectual honesty is rare and inspiring, and his ability to make complex things simple—but not simplistic—is exceptional.
The Data Detective is another one of his gems. Call it a crash course in statistical self-defense. If you're looking for an addictive page-turner that will make you smarter, this is your book. But all his other books will do as well. In fact, I'd advise you to read all of them!” —Rutger Bregman, author of
Utopia for Realists and
Humankind
“Tim Harford is one of the finest writers of nonfiction. This is another brilliant read: wise, humane, and above all illumi