Library:How to Lie with Statistics
| How to Lie with Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Author | Darrell Huff |
| First published | 1954 |
| ISBN | 978-0-393-31072-6 unverified |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | Science & Environment |
| Tactics | Statistical & Evidentiary Distortion |
| Specimen: Huff later took payments from the tobacco industry and drafted a companion book, How to Lie with Smoking Statistics, to cast doubt on the link between smoking and cancer. | |
How to Lie with Statistics is a 1954 book by Darrell Huff.
Summary
A slim, witty classic showing how averages, samples, graphs and percentages can be bent to mislead. Huff walks through tricks like the truncated axis, the biased sample and the "semi-attached figure." It became one of the best-selling statistics books ever written. Its reputation is complicated by Huff's later paid work for the tobacco industry, which is itself a fitting entry for a bibliography of bullshit.