The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data (edition 2021)

by David Spiegelhalter (Author)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
517	6	47,368	(3.84)	4
Shows how to apply statistical reasoning to real-world problems. This isn't simply memorizing formulas or using the tools in a spreadsheet: he emphasizes the importance of clarifying questions, assumptions, and expectations, and--more importantly--knowing how to responsibly interpret the results the software generates. "Statistics are everywhere, as integral to science as they are to business, and in the popular media hundreds of times a day. In this age of big data, a basic grasp of statistical literacy is more important than ever if we want to separate the fact from the fiction, the ostentatious embellishments from the raw evidence -- and even more so if we hope to participate in the future, rather than being simple bystanders. In The Art of Statistics, world-renowned statistician David Spiegelhalter shows readers how to derive knowledge from raw data by focusing on the concepts and connections behind the math. Drawing on real world examples to introduce complex issues, he shows us how statistics can help us determine the luckiest passenger on the Titanic, whether a notorious serial killer could have been caught earlier, and if screening for ovarian cancer is beneficial. The Art of Statistics not only shows us how mathematicians have used statistical science to solve these problems -- it teaches us how we too can think like statisticians. We learn how to clarify our questions, assumptions, and expectations when approaching a problem, and -- perhaps even more importantly -- we learn how to responsibly interpret the answers we receive. Combining the incomparable insight of an expert with the playful enthusiasm of an aficionado, The Art of Statistics is the definitive guide to stats that every modern person needs." --… (more)

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Member:	awalsh00
Title:	The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data
Authors:	David Spiegelhalter (Author)
Info:	Basic Books (2021), 448 pages
Collections:	Living Room, Your library
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The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data by David Spiegelhalter

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Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)

A very nice accessible book on statistics and their application to real world problems. I feel this sort of material should be part of every persons schooling, especially at this more general level.

Not all the subjects are explained with the same quality of examples but overall it is the first book i read where the bridge between the theory and its application comes to life. (

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yates9 | Feb 28, 2024 |

An excellent book. I wish it had been written when I was a student of Economics. Instead of just giving statistical formulae, it explains the background to using them. It brings it to life with copious real world examples, many of which the author had been involved. In particular, the enquiries into Harold Shipman and child heart deaths at Bristol Royal infirmary. He exposes the fallacies behind popular newspaper scare stories, such as cancer risks. He makes the subject matter amusing as well as fascinating, and never in an intimidating way. It's also interesting to know the characters behind the different methods, such as Fisher (confidence levels); Neyman and Pearson (type 1 and 2 errors); and Bayes(inverse probability). The author admits favouring the last. This book should be on the reading list of every student, journalist and politician. At a time of Covid, never has it been more important to understand the bases of the many statistics debated. (

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BobCurry | Jul 22, 2021 |

After being disappointed by a couple of other statistics books for general audiences (Stigler's Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom and Abelson's Statistics as Principled Argument), I finally found what I was looking for. The first few chapters were a bit on the simple side but certainly entertaining enough to keep my interest up. For me the real rewards were in the later parts of the book where the author discusses slightly more advanced topics such as P-values, confidence intervals and Bayesian inference. I had briefly acquainted myself with these topics in my university studies but did not really understand their meaning back then. Without going into their mathematics, the author provides a nice overview of what these statistical concepts mean and what they don't mean. This somewhat philosophical review of practical statistical methods should be very useful for anyone who wants to be able to judge statistical conclusions critically. In the final chapters of the book the author also discusses how scientists sometimes misuse statistical methods, how such misuse can be detected and how newspapers and their readers should understand new scientific results when they are expressed in terms of statistics. All of which is very interesting, so I recommend this book.

thcson | Jul 12, 2020 |

From my blog.

https://polymathtobe.blogspot.com/2020/05/book-review-art-of-statistics-learning... (

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pw0327 | May 16, 2020 |

Absolutely fabulous book. Brings clarity of understanding to a huge raft of statistics. I particularly enjoyed the discussions of Radar Operating Characteristic ROC curves, the stochastic for detecting Harold Shipman's outlying rate of signing death certificates as early as possible, the idea of Brier sores for forecasting quality, the use of power to determine sample size in hypothesis testing, and the use of likelihood ratios in court cases. Given that the author describes himself as an advocate of the Bayesian approach to interpreting evidence, I felt more could be said about this. Nevertheless, a an excellent book, which everyone should read to better their understanding of the world around them! (

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jvgravy | May 9, 2020 |

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L'arte della statistica: cosa ci insegnano i dati

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The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data

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2019-03-29

2019-09 (First US edition)

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Epigraph

The numbers have no way of speaking for themselves. We speak for them. We imbue them with meaning. — Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise

Dedication

To statisticians everywhere, with their endearing traits of pedantry, generosity, integrity, and desire to use data in the best way possible

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Harold Shipman was Britain's most prolific convicted murderer, though he does not fit the archetypal profile of a serial killer.

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▾Book descriptions

Shows how to apply statistical reasoning to real-world problems. This isn't simply memorizing formulas or using the tools in a spreadsheet: he emphasizes the importance of clarifying questions, assumptions, and expectations, and--more importantly--knowing how to responsibly interpret the results the software generates. "Statistics are everywhere, as integral to science as they are to business, and in the popular media hundreds of times a day. In this age of big data, a basic grasp of statistical literacy is more important than ever if we want to separate the fact from the fiction, the ostentatious embellishments from the raw evidence -- and even more so if we hope to participate in the future, rather than being simple bystanders. In The Art of Statistics, world-renowned statistician David Spiegelhalter shows readers how to derive knowledge from raw data by focusing on the concepts and connections behind the math. Drawing on real world examples to introduce complex issues, he shows us how statistics can help us determine the luckiest passenger on the Titanic, whether a notorious serial killer could have been caught earlier, and if screening for ovarian cancer is beneficial. The Art of Statistics not only shows us how mathematicians have used statistical science to solve these problems -- it teaches us how we too can think like statisticians. We learn how to clarify our questions, assumptions, and expectations when approaching a problem, and -- perhaps even more importantly -- we learn how to responsibly interpret the answers we receive. Combining the incomparable insight of an expert with the playful enthusiasm of an aficionado, The Art of Statistics is the definitive guide to stats that every modern person needs." --

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