The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data
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- Create Date：2021-03-09 04:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：David Spiegelhalter
- ISBN：1541675703
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Summary
The "important and comprehensive" （New Yorker） guide to statistical thinking
The age of big data has made statistical literacy more important than ever。 In The Art of Statistics， David Spiegelhalter shows how to apply statistical reasoning to real-world problems。 Whether we're analyzing preventative medical screening or the terrible crime sprees of serial killers， Spiegelhalter teaches us how to clarify questions， assumptions， and expectations and， most importantly， how to 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 the power of data。
"A call to arms for greater societal data literacy 。 。 。 a reminder that there are passionate， self-aware statisticians who can argue eloquently that their discipline is needed now more than ever。" -- Financial Times
The age of big data has made statistical literacy more important than ever。 In The Art of Statistics， David Spiegelhalter shows how to apply statistical reasoning to real-world problems。 Whether we're analyzing preventative medical screening or the terrible crime sprees of serial killers， Spiegelhalter teaches us how to clarify questions， assumptions， and expectations and， most importantly， how to 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 the power of data。
"A call to arms for greater societal data literacy 。 。 。 a reminder that there are passionate， self-aware statisticians who can argue eloquently that their discipline is needed now more than ever。" -- Financial Times
Reviews
Enid
，
This book started off very strongly for me- great examples and clear explanations。 Then it started to bog down a bit- it got much drier， which had to happen a bit with the explanation of the more statistically based stuff- but there weren't as many cool stories to go along with those parts to keep up the interest level。 It was an interesting overview of a wide range of topics。 This book started off very strongly for me- great examples and clear explanations。 Then it started to bog down a bit- it got much drier， which had to happen a bit with the explanation of the more statistically based stuff- but there weren't as many cool stories to go along with those parts to keep up the interest level。 It was an interesting overview of a wide range of topics。 。。。more
Ben Clark
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Very well written and possibly very well explained when it comes to the more difficult stuff - I will say that as someone who does data analysis using Excel on a regular basis， I thought the more difficult stuff in the book would come easier to me， but it didn't， I even skipped a couple of chapters because I just simply wasn't getting it， that may be an overestimation of my ability or the writer's complicated style for those parts or just the nature of statistics， probably the first and last。Oth Very well written and possibly very well explained when it comes to the more difficult stuff - I will say that as someone who does data analysis using Excel on a regular basis， I thought the more difficult stuff in the book would come easier to me， but it didn't， I even skipped a couple of chapters because I just simply wasn't getting it， that may be an overestimation of my ability or the writer's complicated style for those parts or just the nature of statistics， probably the first and last。Other than that I think it's a must for anyone who wants to understand how statistics are used， their origins， the theory behind it and some very interesting stories and events that have happened throughout the years regarding statistics and their uses。 I did feel like a lot of the theory I did kind of know but it "fleshed" it out a lot more and made it more precise so for that I found it very useful， just couldn't be arsed with the crazy models， I will probably read a more basic book focused on those models then go back to it one day。Much like psychology or economics for example， it seems as though statistical science is still very much debated and there are several schools of thought which is always nice。 。。。more
Aron
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The book provides a good overview of statistical concepts。 It explains the concept behind different statistical measures， why they are important， and how they help to answer important questions。 It also explains how these techniques can lead to problems if they are misused。
Sam
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This is a really good book on statistics， as Spiegelhalter's manner of explanation differs a lot from traditional introductory courses， which makes this book both a good introduction in statistics and also recreational reading。 Though for me statistics is still magic， and the following quotes explain， why it is so:1） "[。。。] our "statistical" idea of causation is not strictly deterministic。 When we say X causes Y， we do not mean that every time X occurs ， Y will too。"2） "We have a strong psycholo This is a really good book on statistics， as Spiegelhalter's manner of explanation differs a lot from traditional introductory courses， which makes this book both a good introduction in statistics and also recreational reading。 Though for me statistics is still magic， and the following quotes explain， why it is so:1） "[。。。] our "statistical" idea of causation is not strictly deterministic。 When we say X causes Y， we do not mean that every time X occurs ， Y will too。"2） "We have a strong psychological tendency to attribute change to intervention [。。。]" which is famous correlation is not causation。3） "I am often asked why people tend to find probability a difficult and unintuitive idea， and I reply that， after forty years researching and teaching in this area， I have finally concluded that it is because probability really is a difficult and unintuitive idea。" 。。。more
Adrian
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This book gives a nice conceptual overview over statistics in different domains。 I liked to read it and definitely learned something although I was already familiar with some of the concepts and ideas。
Aniruddha
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I picked this up thinking it would be a review of stats history， and a light math read like "The Joy of X" or "Godel， Escher， Bach"。 Nope。 It's an extremely heavy book， especially if you try to think hard about the case studies the author has presented。 I really enjoyed reading through it。 Though I'm marking it as 'read'， I still don't feel like I've completely absorbed all the knowledge this book presented， because methinks this is a book I will keep coming back to as I explore more statistics I picked this up thinking it would be a review of stats history， and a light math read like "The Joy of X" or "Godel， Escher， Bach"。 Nope。 It's an extremely heavy book， especially if you try to think hard about the case studies the author has presented。 I really enjoyed reading through it。 Though I'm marking it as 'read'， I still don't feel like I've completely absorbed all the knowledge this book presented， because methinks this is a book I will keep coming back to as I explore more statistics and data science。 。。。more
Graham Clark
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A clear yet comprehensive guide to statistics， taking a much broader view of the subject from that of a high school maths class。 David Spiegelhalter has made many wonderful contributions to the public understanding of statistics， and this book continues his essential work。
Zahida Zahoor
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If you have some basic understanding of stats then this book will help you gain more insight into the field。 Some interesting cases are discussed and how stats has played a vital part in the outcome; this includes the Harold Shipman case， claims that alcohol reduced cancer and the probability of who would die on the titanic。 Explanation off the different statistical methods often used along with historical background are also included。I would recommend the book to a college maths student or an u If you have some basic understanding of stats then this book will help you gain more insight into the field。 Some interesting cases are discussed and how stats has played a vital part in the outcome; this includes the Harold Shipman case， claims that alcohol reduced cancer and the probability of who would die on the titanic。 Explanation off the different statistical methods often used along with historical background are also included。I would recommend the book to a college maths student or an undergraduate science student but I do not think it hit the mark for a layperson as some of the more important concepts of statistics were skimmed over and not fully explained。 Spiegelhalter jumped around a lot with the cases， I wished he took one cases as one chapter and went into depth。 The summary at the end of the book was very usefully， as a generally guideline especially if you work with stats in any way。 The most important take away message for me was to really look at the stats carefully， the methodology， the p values and what the report has inferred from the statistical analysis and not take things for face value。 。。。more
Sluggable Joe
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Schlurp。。。。？
Davidg
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Over 40 years ago， I was staring a Mathematics degree and， as well as set texts which I wouldn’t understand a word of now， I had books like “How to lie with Statistics”。 They gave an insight into the world of numbers for the less academic reader。 I hoped that this newer book would take me back to those days but would add a modern perspective。In many ways my hopes were fulfilled。 There is a lot more technical and statistical terminology than those earlier books and I can’t say that I understood i Over 40 years ago， I was staring a Mathematics degree and， as well as set texts which I wouldn’t understand a word of now， I had books like “How to lie with Statistics”。 They gave an insight into the world of numbers for the less academic reader。 I hoped that this newer book would take me back to those days but would add a modern perspective。In many ways my hopes were fulfilled。 There is a lot more technical and statistical terminology than those earlier books and I can’t say that I understood it all。 As a former maths student， I would have liked a bit more maths so that I could work out what was going on， but I can see why it wasn’t there。 The final chapters were the most interesting， explaining how statistics are misused and misrepresented， both accidentally and deliberately。 One of the reasons for my struggles is because I read the Kindle version。 Sadly the tables， which are frequently referred to， are usually a little away from the associated text making cross reference tricky and they are often in a very light print and impossible to read， especially when there are multiple lines。 However， a good introduction to the use of statistics as we enter the 2020s and a trip down memory lane。 。。。more
Eugene
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The book provides an interesting insight into the approaches of statistics。 However， it might be a little too complicated after awhile， and slightly repetitive。 I did learn much stuff from the book nonetheless！
Gotmar
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Perfect balance between technical and general information about statistics。
Zoe
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So glad i have read this in my final year of my Mathematics Degree。 Wish that I had come across this earlier in my studies as it would have been a great help to have before going into my Statistics Dissertation however it will still be a great help。 Most definitely my most tab-ed book。
Melanie H
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Not to reveal my age， but I haven’t been in a math class since the late ‘90s， and as luck would have it， it was a stats class。 However， with all the talk about following the science on mask wearing， eating in restaurants， keeping schools open， etc。 I thought it was time to take myself to task。 Hey， if every other armchair statistician was mouthing off on Facebook， why not take a dive into the stats myself？ And so， I started with Spiegelhalter’s book ‘The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data Not to reveal my age， but I haven’t been in a math class since the late ‘90s， and as luck would have it， it was a stats class。 However， with all the talk about following the science on mask wearing， eating in restaurants， keeping schools open， etc。 I thought it was time to take myself to task。 Hey， if every other armchair statistician was mouthing off on Facebook， why not take a dive into the stats myself？ And so， I started with Spiegelhalter’s book ‘The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data” to see what I knew about the subject。 Bonus points for its colorful cover。Let’s start with the big surprise， there is no single unifying theory of statistical inference （p。 305）。 Wait， what？ Yes， turns out there are three competing approaches: Fisher， Neyman-Pearson， and Bayesian。 I won’t bore you with the details， and let’s be realistic， I’d have to make some flashcards and get to memorizing before I could explain much about those differences， but let’s just say there are different approaches to drawing conclusions from data。 I’m also happy to report that your average person， myself included， doesn’t understand probability and chance。 Friendly reminder， luck has nothing to do with numbers。 What appeals to me most about the discipline is the idea of transforming our life experiences into data。 That we can draw inferences about general principles from specific examples is fascinating to me， as is the idea of overfitting。 When the algorithms get too complex， we start fitting the noise rather than the signal。 The goal is to find the signal in the noise， not to make the noise louder。 To be honest， I skipped over some of the more complex theoretical sections。 Since I’m not running any research studies or statistical analyses any time soon， I think the world is safe from my armchair interpretations。 If you’re looking to revisit the subject or learn more about it for the first time， this book is a great entry point。 It’s easy to read and filled with engaging real-life examples。 As for my thoughts on what’s safe for the public during the pandemic and when， I’ll defer to the public health experts and epidemiologists。 Because despite my reading and life experiences， I， like most other citizens， do not have the stats skills to look at the bigger picture。 Certainly， I encourage you to read broadly from a variety of academic and popular sources， but let’s not kid ourselves， interpreting data is hard， and is best left to those who understand how to do it at an advanced level， especially when it comes to matters of life and death。 。。。more
Ricardo
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Pretty interesting， but perhaps too ambitious by trying to cram too much content in one book。 I enjoyed the ethical discussions and how everyone has a role in improving the abuse and/or misuse of statistics。
Celia
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I started reading this coincidentally before the author became a regular contributor to interviews on Covid statistics。 He spoke at the online Hay Festival and I found him fascinating。 The book is gripping for someone with a genuine interest in Mathematics， although the explanations and information went beyond me at times。 It is not however a book for the casually interested in the way that Tim Harford writes - he is more accessible than David Spiegelhalter。 This is no criticism - horses for cou I started reading this coincidentally before the author became a regular contributor to interviews on Covid statistics。 He spoke at the online Hay Festival and I found him fascinating。 The book is gripping for someone with a genuine interest in Mathematics， although the explanations and information went beyond me at times。 It is not however a book for the casually interested in the way that Tim Harford writes - he is more accessible than David Spiegelhalter。 This is no criticism - horses for courses。 I had a better understanding on statistics at the end than at the beginning and will definitely re-read it soon。 。。。more
Michael Cook
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This is objectively an excellent book on statistics， statistical analysis， and the importance they play in everyday life。 *But* much like playing pool or arguing with your wife - statistics are much more interesting to do than read about。
Rado Pitonak
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This book is a must-read for everybody working with the data。
Nikki
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What a surprisingly enjoyable book！ I picked it up because of an interest in the general topic and， honestly， was expecting something informative but dry。 Maybe hard to get through， but generally worth it in the end if I stuck with it。 So， I didn't set a really high bar。 What I got was a book that was really informative， providing real world examples for just about everything， a pretty great glossary， and some wonderful snark。 The author actually made this fun to read on top of making it underst What a surprisingly enjoyable book！ I picked it up because of an interest in the general topic and， honestly， was expecting something informative but dry。 Maybe hard to get through， but generally worth it in the end if I stuck with it。 So， I didn't set a really high bar。 What I got was a book that was really informative， providing real world examples for just about everything， a pretty great glossary， and some wonderful snark。 The author actually made this fun to read on top of making it understandable to someone who is not a statistician。 What he talks about gets progressively more difficult and he is very honest about that， he acknowledges that certain things are going to be hard。 Toward the end， he goes over things that go wrong with gathering and reporting data at each level， and then talks about what can be done better。 I enjoyed the blunt and open approach to the topic。 Wonderful book。 。。。more
Elentarri
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"The Art of Statistics" provides a brief and not terribly technical guide to the essential statistical principles required to obtain knowledge from data， all while using real world problems as examples to introduce conceptual issues and analytical techniques。 Spiegelhalter also discusses the which techniques to use and why and the ethics of reporting distorted and inaccurate headline-catching data。 He uses both good and bad examples of statistical reporting and explains why they are god/bad。 As "The Art of Statistics" provides a brief and not terribly technical guide to the essential statistical principles required to obtain knowledge from data， all while using real world problems as examples to introduce conceptual issues and analytical techniques。 Spiegelhalter also discusses the which techniques to use and why and the ethics of reporting distorted and inaccurate headline-catching data。 He uses both good and bad examples of statistical reporting and explains why they are god/bad。 As we are assailed with more statistical data， it is important for us to become acquainted and thus literate in the methods of data manipulation and what the results ultimately mean， so we can properly assess the the findings and be more informed about the statistics they encounter。This isn't a statistics text book。 If you need in depth instructions on the various methods of data analysis， a proper statistics text book and the relevant analytics software would be more useful。 This is an introductory text for the general interested public and first year college/university students。 The book does however， provide some eye opening information about statistical reporting and the various methods used to obtain that data。 Interesting and informative。 。。。more
Aaron Ambrose
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I work with basic statistics on a regular basis， and for reasons I forget （forgetting makes the world a fun surprise） I was pointed toward this book for an insightful dip into the drama， dangers and dopeness of statistical practice and possibilities。 This reads like a personable， cheerful textbook - the kind of textbook that embraces its authoredness。 Bright， accessible， witty and wise。
Eleanor Platt
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This book cleverly succeeds in being both accessible to people new to statistics， and thought-provoking for those already in the field。 I particularly enjoyed the final chapters on the reproducibility crisis in science and the importance of proper communication of statistical findings。 I appreciated the author’s use of interesting and relevant examples throughout the whole book。
Beth Cooley
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（smart aged 14） This book varies in difficulty a lot between chapters。 I found most easy to read and engaging。 Spiegelhalter is clearly very knowledgeable and includes lots of funny and interesting examples of statistics that relate to the world around us。 However there's also a few difficult chapters where you need to know a good level of maths and/or programming to understand them， for example laws of probability。 （smart aged 14） This book varies in difficulty a lot between chapters。 I found most easy to read and engaging。 Spiegelhalter is clearly very knowledgeable and includes lots of funny and interesting examples of statistics that relate to the world around us。 However there's also a few difficult chapters where you need to know a good level of maths and/or programming to understand them， for example laws of probability。 。。。more
Renato
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Un ottimo esempio di comunicazione scientifica。Spiegelhalter è davvero bravo。 Lo sapevo già， ma leggere questo libro è stato una decisa conferma。 Sia l'impostazione generale che la cura di ogni capitolo rendono la lettura di un argomento （per me） abbastanza ostico leggera coinvolgente ed illuminante。 Un ottimo esempio di comunicazione scientifica。Spiegelhalter è davvero bravo。 Lo sapevo già， ma leggere questo libro è stato una decisa conferma。 Sia l'impostazione generale che la cura di ogni capitolo rendono la lettura di un argomento （per me） abbastanza ostico leggera coinvolgente ed illuminante。 。。。more
spoko
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Does a pretty good job breaking this complex subject down for a lay reader。 I’m sure there were parts where he oversimplified， and I know there were parts where it was still a bit too complex for me to really grasp （without going back and re-reading entire chapters， which I didn’t do）。 But I think it finds a pretty happy medium， and I definitely came away from it with a better understanding of how to take all the statistics that come at us these days， as well as some more guidance for the statis Does a pretty good job breaking this complex subject down for a lay reader。 I’m sure there were parts where he oversimplified， and I know there were parts where it was still a bit too complex for me to really grasp （without going back and re-reading entire chapters， which I didn’t do）。 But I think it finds a pretty happy medium， and I definitely came away from it with a better understanding of how to take all the statistics that come at us these days， as well as some more guidance for the statistics I want to work with professionally。 。。。more
John
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A must read book for everyone。 It gives in depth insights to the working of statistics， without the math。
Shane
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Statistics are everywhere in the news today， from COVID trends and vaccine trial results to electoral polls and outcomes， and much， much more。 Helping people better understand what those stats are actually saying is a noble goal。 To accomplish this， Mr。 Spiegelhalter set out to write a stats book with minimal math to open the concepts up to a wider audience， and overall I would say he was successful。 The Art of Statistics is a book that anyone can get a lot out of， anyone brighter than the avera Statistics are everywhere in the news today， from COVID trends and vaccine trial results to electoral polls and outcomes， and much， much more。 Helping people better understand what those stats are actually saying is a noble goal。 To accomplish this， Mr。 Spiegelhalter set out to write a stats book with minimal math to open the concepts up to a wider audience， and overall I would say he was successful。 The Art of Statistics is a book that anyone can get a lot out of， anyone brighter than the average bulb that is。 Despite stripping away the math （most of the formulae he left to the glossary at end of the book for those that were interested）， there are a lot of crunchy， challenging concepts here。 In fact， for those who aren't scared of numbers I think perhaps the exercise of pulling out the equations made the book harder， not easier， to follow。 That said， there is a benefit beyond not requiring a math/stats background to understand the book。 I went to business school and previously took a lot of science classes。 All that is to say， I've done a lot of statistics。 Nonetheless this book opened my eyes to new ways to look at data analysis。 I read most of it two or three times。 Focusing on the concepts and not how to run the equations shifted the focus to why something was being done instead of how， and for me that was very beneficial in really understanding the material。 This book isn't going back on one of the farther away shelves， but rather is staying in easy reach。Highly recommended， especially for people who have always felt they needed to understand statistics， but never quite got there and for people looking for a good reference that isn't a textbook。 。。。more
Johanne
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Well written， the author definitely made an effort to share complex information clearly。 Some concepts were just too over my head。
Maria Graetsch
，
Most of the material in this book is very approachable - I struggled a bit towards the end。 But I found the chapter that explained the different approaches to statistics really useful and it tied a lot of concepts together。 The reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is related to how I read the book - I have the kindle version， and some of the graphs and tables did not come out so well and it was not that great to navigate。
Piers
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