Marilyn Vos Savant

Columnist and researcher, Vos Savant writes about political speech and statistical citation which are intentionally used deceptively by politicians and government officials. For me, the most important section was that on the Facts About Fallacies which reviewed basic logical fallacies. Worth reading for understanding mass media manipulation and governmental propaganda.

An easy, and very enlightening, read. So much of our lives is dictated by statistics. Prognostications of likely behavior, or events, based on a studied sample. Marilyn vos Savant explains how to move from passive acceptance of alleged facts, to truly thinking through information. I especially enjoy Part Two of the book, How Numbers and Statistics Can Mislead, with its explanations of statistics, and fallacies in reasoning. No math degree needed.

I was hoping for a discussion/examination of the social history of spelling, but this wasn't it. Most of the basis for the book is a survey the author conducted in Parade magazine, and a pseudo-scientific examination of the survey results. While the author mentions that the results were self-reported and therefore not really reliable, she still bases the majority of the book on the flawed data. There are a few chapters full of quotes and examination of other people's research as it supports show more her survey data, and then some coverage on tips for improving spelling. I feel like this was a waste of my time; never a good way to leave a book. show less

Pompous pompousity (?). yes, well, cool nonetheless. More for the mathematical drama queens of nothing else. or for the delightful thought that we have no system of mathematics or thought that actually fits the world appropriately, and the two major geometries are diametrically opposed to some extent. Or something. But you should never read books if you want to believe what you learn in school. Reading this book is the perfect use of 1.13 hours of time. Just don't believe anything this woman show more says, because the book has been thoroughly discredited. But delightful as an imaginative work of fiction. One should always be suspicious of writers whose only credentials are having the highest measured IQ in the world, whatever that might indicate, and depend excessively on being credentialed. show less