Proofiness

The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception

by

Hardcover, 304 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 2010 by Viking Adult.

ISBN:
978-0-670-02216-8
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OCLC Number:
555645059

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(1 review)

In the tradition of Stephen Colbert's concept of truthiness, Proofiness explores the intersection of chicanery and mathematics.

The author explores regression, false correlation, Potemkin numbers, and a variety of other sketchy techniques used to make people think that the data reflect patterns that don't exist in actuality.

How to Lie With Statistics would strike me as a readalike.

2 editions

reviewed Proofiness by Charles Seife

Review of 'Proofiness' on 'Goodreads'

Interesting anecdotes about how the brain reacts to numbers. I agree with the author - drawing public attention to statistical lies is the best way to defeat them. OJ the wife-beater didn't have a 1 in 1,000 probability of becoming a wife-murderer; instead Nicole's chances of dying went up from 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 1,000.

A good overview of advertising, the press, polls, elections, and propaganda. Could have had more detail, more examples, and perhaps an appendix with more math - too many people today don't understand statistics at all.