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How to Read Numbers

A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them)

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How to Read Numbers

By: Tom Chivers, David Chivers
Narrated by: Tom Chivers, David Chivers
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About this listen

Every day, most of us will read or watch something in the news that is based on statistics in some way. Sometimes it'll be obvious—'X people develop cancer every year'—and sometimes less obvious—'How smartphones destroyed a generation'. Statistics are an immensely powerful tool for understanding the world, but in the wrong hands they can be dangerous.

Introducing you to the common mistakes that journalists make and the tricks they sometimes deploy, How to Read Numbers is a vital guide that will help you understand when and how to trust the numbers in the news—and, just as importantly, when not to.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 David Chivers and Tom Chivers (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group Elections & Political Process History & Philosophy Mathematics Philosophy Politics & Government Science
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I will never hyphenate bellend again or blame my snoring on fish fingers. A brilliant and easy to read analysis.

Genius

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Fantastic book. There’s a lot that you can take from this, some of which I had thought of but hadn’t labelled, e.g. when you choose to start a statistical comparison (football stats are horrific at this) but many not. Everyone should read it! The only thing I’d have liked more of is an understanding of what stats to trust, as I definitely feel more sceptical about most, which is both good and bad!

Essential reading for adults and children alike

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