Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data

by Charles Wheelan

It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s hard to tell the truth without them.

“If you consider people, not countries, global inequality is falling rapidly.”

Percentages don’t lie—but they can exaggerate.

Any evaluation of teachers or schools that is based solely on test scores will present a dangerously inaccurate picture.

Probability doesn’t make mistakes; people using probability make mistakes.

inferences made from reasonably large, properly drawn samples can be every bit as accurate as attempting to elicit the same information from the entire population.

a bigger sample will not make up for errors in its composition, or “bias.”

a large, biased sample is arguably worse than a small, biased sample because it will give a false sense of confidence regarding the results.

The core principle underlying the central limit theorem is that a large, properly drawn sample will resemble the population from which it is drawn.

the most dangerous kind of job stress stems from having “low control” over one’s responsibilities.

AKA lack of autonomy will eventually kill you

it is not the stress associated with major responsibilities that will kill you; it is the stress associated with being told what to do while having little say in how or when it gets done.

Here is one of the most important things to remember when doing research that involves regression analysis: Try not to kill anyone. You can even put a little Post-it note on your computer monitor: “Do not kill people with your research.”