Errors, Blunders, and Lies: How to Tell the Difference

by David S. Salsburg

We live in a world that is not quite "right." The central tenet of statistical inquiry is that Observation = Truth + Error because even the most careful of scientific investigations have always been bedeviled by uncertainty. Our attempts to measure things are plagued with small errors. Our attempts to understand our world are blocked by blunders. And, unfortunately, in some cases, people have been known to lie. In this long-awaited follow-up to his well-regarded bestseller, The Lady Tasting Tea, David Salsburg opens a door to the amazing widespread use of statistical methods by looking at historical examples of errors, blunders and lies from areas as diverse as archeology, law, economics, medicine, psychology, sociology, Biblical studies, history, and war-time espionage. In doing so, he shows how, upon closer statistical investigation, errors and blunders often lead to useful information. And how statistical methods have been used to uncover falsified data. Beginning with Edmund Halley’s examination of the Transit of Venus and ending with a discussion of how many tanks Rommel had during the Second World War, the author invites the reader to come along on this easily accessible and fascinating journey of how to identify the nature of errors, minimize the effects of blunders, and figure out who the liars are.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Mathematics

154 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2017

Reviews

[Xiaoyun Li]

It is an easy-to-read book that describes the essential statistical concepts with great examples. What I like most is that the author did not stop at the surface of the concept, instead, provide more insight and the statistical reasoning underlying the concept itself. It is a great book for people interested in statistics and how it can be used.

[MinstaKvadrat]

Jag lyssnade på boken. Alltid roligt att få en liten historisk bakgrund till saker inom statistikämnet. Jag tror dock det vore att läsa den pga ganska mycket siffror, årtal och en del uträkningar som var svåra att hålla i huvudet medan man lyssnade. Dock lyssnade jag på 1,25 till 1,5 gångers hastighet också vilket kan ha försvårat just detta.

[William Chiu]

short stories for statisticians

Each chapter contains a brief application of statistics, followed by a bibliography. I wished the author included a short list of statistical methods or tests that relevant to the example.

[Paul]

Starts off with a teaser that the author used his wife to catch out language or maths that are too complicated which then left me wondering what was there before the wife-pass since there is nothing complicated described in this rather unchallenging book.