This paper is a book review of Darrell Huff's classic 1954 text "How to Lie with Statistics".
Written in 2005; 905 words; 1 sources; MLA; $ 32.95
Paper Summary:
This paper explains that Darrell Huff in his text "How to Lie with Statistics" relates that, because there is a fear of numbers in our culture and a great deal of misunderstanding or incomprehension about what number mean, combined with a paradoxical impulse to trust science as objective, people are apt to become confused by the use of numbers, regardless of what the numbers actually say. The author points out that the math is usually computed correctly but is rhetorically twisted and used to suggest an erroneous conclusion, hence Huff's rightful characterization of such misleading evidence as a lie. The paper stresses that perhaps the most relevant information in the book for today's reader pertains to interpreting potentially divisive statistics such as crime rates in cities.
From the Paper:
"Such an example is not unlike the spurious study cited by Huff that smokers have significantly lower grades in college than nonsmokers. 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 that smoking is the cause of lower grades -- perhaps educational failure draws people to smoke, suggests Huff, or more seriously, demographic factors such as poorer individual's tendency to smoke as a culturally accepted coping mechanism or to have come from less well-funded and rigorous school districts might also come into play."
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