The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics
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- Create Date：2021-04-06 08:51:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tim Harford
- ISBN：0593084594
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Summary
From "one of the great （greatest？） contemporary popular writers on economics" （Tyler Cowen） comes a smart， lively， and encouraging rethinking of how to use statistics。
Today we think statistics are the enemy， numbers used to mislead and confuse us。 That's a mistake， Tim Harford says in The Data Detective。 We shouldn't be suspicious of statistics--we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are， at heart， human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often "the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us。" If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly--understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray--statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter。
As "perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world" （New Statesman）， Tim Harford is an expert at taking complicated ideas and untangling them for millions of readers。 In The Data Detective， he uses new research in science and psychology to set out ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with new ideas that use virtues like patience， curiosity， and good sense to better understand ourselves and the world。 As a result， The Data Detective is a big-idea book about statistics and human behavior that is fresh， unexpected， and insightful。
Today we think statistics are the enemy， numbers used to mislead and confuse us。 That's a mistake， Tim Harford says in The Data Detective。 We shouldn't be suspicious of statistics--we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are， at heart， human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often "the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us。" If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly--understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray--statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter。
As "perhaps the best popular economics writer in the world" （New Statesman）， Tim Harford is an expert at taking complicated ideas and untangling them for millions of readers。 In The Data Detective， he uses new research in science and psychology to set out ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with new ideas that use virtues like patience， curiosity， and good sense to better understand ourselves and the world。 As a result， The Data Detective is a big-idea book about statistics and human behavior that is fresh， unexpected， and insightful。
Reviews
Siobhan
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Some good ideas but like many business books， it could have been a long form article。 Skimmed it quite a bit
Cristiano Betta
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Excellent food for thought， though I do feel like it repeats a lot from the Cautionary Tales podcast
Eric
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If you are sympathetic to the concept that "figures lie， and liar's figure，" then Harford's book ought to bring joy to your heart; and I would think that none of the liars would get very far pulling the wool over Harford's eyes。 There is contained herein much practical guidance on understanding what about a number story is being straight with the reader and what is bumping into the propaganda line。 If you are sympathetic to the concept that "figures lie， and liar's figure，" then Harford's book ought to bring joy to your heart; and I would think that none of the liars would get very far pulling the wool over Harford's eyes。 There is contained herein much practical guidance on understanding what about a number story is being straight with the reader and what is bumping into the propaganda line。 。。。more
Sarah
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Especially enjoy with Tim Harford narrating the audio book
Stephen Blott
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Disappointing。 Too little technical anything， and too much smugness。 Little more than a series of anecdotes。
Jeremy
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Tim Harford is a good writer， I will read most everything he writes just because he is smart and enjoyable to read。 However， he needs to find something more unique to write about。 Too much of this book covers topics that are well covered and understood by the well read。 For the uninitiated （on topics covered by the likes of Kahneman， Tetlock， and even Harford's previous writing）， I would highly recommend this book。 A main takeaway would be to be curious about the world。 Said differently， be skep Tim Harford is a good writer， I will read most everything he writes just because he is smart and enjoyable to read。 However， he needs to find something more unique to write about。 Too much of this book covers topics that are well covered and understood by the well read。 For the uninitiated （on topics covered by the likes of Kahneman， Tetlock， and even Harford's previous writing）， I would highly recommend this book。 A main takeaway would be to be curious about the world。 Said differently， be skeptical about data， charts， headlines， etc。 。。。more
Emma Dickson
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This is a fantastic book that covers topics that many may think are dry or boring （I know I did when I was at school） through interesting and enlightening stories and clearly explained ideas。 Tim Harford has a style of writing that speaks simply without being patronising， and， if you listen to the audio book， he's pretty easy on the ears too。I'd definitely recommend it。 This is a fantastic book that covers topics that many may think are dry or boring （I know I did when I was at school） through interesting and enlightening stories and clearly explained ideas。 Tim Harford has a style of writing that speaks simply without being patronising， and， if you listen to the audio book， he's pretty easy on the ears too。I'd definitely recommend it。 。。。more
Justin Latham
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Could have been a little shorter and had a little too much overlap with his podcast content， but otherwise a spectacular piece of reading。
Hrishant Singhal
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Really liked it I must say。 Nothing fancy or a lot of new stuff but lovely ways of looking at things It starts with concepts taken from Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now， Rosling's Factfulness， Daniel Kahneman， Nassim Nicholas Taleb's work。 Since i had read these authors， wasn't a lot of new stuff for me but it was good stuff， nonetheless。 About how the world is improving， our biases affecting our research， what would a 50 year， 100 year and 25 year newspaper publish。That was the first half， the Really liked it I must say。 Nothing fancy or a lot of new stuff but lovely ways of looking at things It starts with concepts taken from Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now， Rosling's Factfulness， Daniel Kahneman， Nassim Nicholas Taleb's work。 Since i had read these authors， wasn't a lot of new stuff for me but it was good stuff， nonetheless。 About how the world is improving， our biases affecting our research， what would a 50 year， 100 year and 25 year newspaper publish。That was the first half， the second half is much more interesting， about how we can't trust even top research， how politicans mess with stats of the countries， amazing funny anecdotes。 And then of course a wonderful chapter on computer algorithms， how much of it can we trust when they make very important decisions like hiring and firing people。。 Biases in algorithms against females and blacks。 。。。more
Angela
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I liked it a lot。 It makes you think what classes should be mandatory in the near future （and not only for kids， for adults as well）。 There is a lot to learn from this book （and to remember） when reading news articles or looking at statistical data。
Rachael
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A really great read！ I learnt a lot and am still curious about many things that were mentioned！ Overall I enjoyed it！！
Horia Calborean
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I think this is a must read。 The subject is very interesting。 Why not 5 stars？ I felt that in some chapters the book is lacking in terms of convincing examples， it does not go deep enough。 I wanted more details， more analysis on real examples。
AJ Kerrigan
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“The cure for boredom is curiosity，” goes an old saying。 “There is no cure for curiosity。” Just so: once we start to peer beneath the surface of things， become aware of the gaps in our knowledge， and treat each question as the path to a better question， we find that curiosity is habit-forming。 This comes near the end， but feels like the heart of the book to me。 In "The Data Detective"， Tim Harford provides a list of rules that can help us make statistics less arcane and daunting。 There is a lot o “The cure for boredom is curiosity，” goes an old saying。 “There is no cure for curiosity。” Just so: once we start to peer beneath the surface of things， become aware of the gaps in our knowledge， and treat each question as the path to a better question， we find that curiosity is habit-forming。 This comes near the end， but feels like the heart of the book to me。 In "The Data Detective"， Tim Harford provides a list of rules that can help us make statistics less arcane and daunting。 There is a lot of good advice and discussion along the way， highlighted by anecdotes from history and current events。 But a lot of it comes down to asking questions rather than taking things at face value。I love that Harford acknowledges how easy it is to become overwhelmed， and default to cynically dismissing everything。 But he challenges that:It’s not that we feel every statistic is a lie， but that we feel helpless to pick out the truths。 So we believe whatever we want to believe （more on that in the next chapter）， and for the rest we adopt Huff’s response: a harsh laugh， a shrug， or both。 Of course， we shouldn’t be credulous—but the antidote to credulity isn’t to believe nothing， but to have the confidence to assess information with curiosity and a healthy skepticism。 This book asks you to be skeptical of statistics and their presentation， but also your own emotions and biases。 In that sense it owes as much to Thinking， Fast and Slow as it does to Weapons of Math Destruction。 It's well worth a read， and couldn't come at a better time。So stay curious， and of course don't trust this review at face value :）。 Who knows what I want you to feel， or what I'm not saying！ 。。。more
Kyle
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This is a simple， but interesting book， that， if you take its concepts on board， should improve your ability to understand the world。 The author has fun stories that help reinforce the ten rules he gives on understanding the world。 They can be briefly be summed up with "be curious" which means think about what was measured when given data， consider how it makes you feel and take those feelings into account when evaluating the information， and think about how the general statistic and personal ex This is a simple， but interesting book， that， if you take its concepts on board， should improve your ability to understand the world。 The author has fun stories that help reinforce the ten rules he gives on understanding the world。 They can be briefly be summed up with "be curious" which means think about what was measured when given data， consider how it makes you feel and take those feelings into account when evaluating the information， and think about how the general statistic and personal experience can be made consistent （or why they may seem inconsistent）。 These are good things to be reminded of， and Harford does a good job of explaining that these small steps don't require great mathematical sophistication or intellectual reasoning， just stopping and really thinking about what is being presented or said and performing a little bit of a robustness check。 While I would certainly recommend it if this sounds interesting to you， I worry that the type of person who would read this book might already be the type of person who would be aware of and doing the sorts of checks that Harford presents。 If you think that you've got the above down， I certainly couldn't say you need to read the book， but if you'd like a fresh reminder， this will do an excellent job。 。。。more
John Brian Anderson
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Turned out not to be what I expected， I thought it would be a dry how-to book but it is more of a lesson on observation and investigation！ Full of great stories and lessons， I particularly like the one about Dr。 Carl Wonderlick and his 1MM temp measurements！ Extremely entertaining and informative！ Great structure， good narrative， and sound methods， highly recommended。
Alina Belascu
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I am fascinated by the stories inside。。。but now I am a bit scared about the news out there。 I am questioning everything。 Making the world add up feels more daunting now :）。
Christos Papadimitriou
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The "coldness'' which statistics are often attributed have nothing to do with the way this book is written。 Harford's way of presenting his rules via beautiful stories - not numbers， ironically - makes this non-fiction book read like a novel。 The result is captivating: a lively manual for better assessing numbers and statistics reported in the news， debates， etc。 The "coldness'' which statistics are often attributed have nothing to do with the way this book is written。 Harford's way of presenting his rules via beautiful stories - not numbers， ironically - makes this non-fiction book read like a novel。 The result is captivating: a lively manual for better assessing numbers and statistics reported in the news， debates， etc。 。。。more
Malie
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Brilliant， useful， interesting book that you wish you could press into the hands of everyone you know。
V Narayanan
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Amazing book。Be Curious Chapter was really superb。I enjoyed every word in the book。
SocProf
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A very nice read for a general public audience， consisting of ten good habits and a golden rule on how to deal with data。 There's really no math involved but a lot of interesting stories supporting the general point。 Harford is a good and engaging writer。 A very nice read for a general public audience， consisting of ten good habits and a golden rule on how to deal with data。 There's really no math involved but a lot of interesting stories supporting the general point。 Harford is a good and engaging writer。 。。。more
Brian
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How to look at data and make sense of the world。 Good advice from one of my favourite popular economics writers。
Paula
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Always be curious！
Jonas Heide
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Harford's 10 commandments form a healthy recipe for constructive skepticism。 The author talks science， knowledge， and numbers in the heart-warming spirit that the truth is out there and this one should be on every library shelf - high-school and up。 Harford's 10 commandments form a healthy recipe for constructive skepticism。 The author talks science， knowledge， and numbers in the heart-warming spirit that the truth is out there and this one should be on every library shelf - high-school and up。 。。。more
Sri Raghavendra
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Informative！Very well researched。 The book opens your mind to the possibility of how data can be manipulated and why we should not blindly believe in statistics without questioning why。 The author talks about the importance of being curious，。 though he does not directly mention skepticism， but the examples and the stories he references as a part of this book explaining statistical fallacies are thought provoking 。 The author provides a strong case for why we should believe in statistics ， though Informative！Very well researched。 The book opens your mind to the possibility of how data can be manipulated and why we should not blindly believe in statistics without questioning why。 The author talks about the importance of being curious，。 though he does not directly mention skepticism， but the examples and the stories he references as a part of this book explaining statistical fallacies are thought provoking 。 The author provides a strong case for why we should believe in statistics ， though we should be skeptical about accepting its claims without questions。 。。。more
Mark Tadder
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This is exactly the kind of book that I will seek out。 A nuanced and complex explanation with plenty of stories and narrative about how the world works。 Can’t recommend it any higher。
Mike
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I listened to the audio book version， which he does a great job at as an author。 He gives a very good overview of where statistics fails and succeeds， and how to make sense of them。 The sections on some of the failures of big data was interesting。 The only negative is you want a bit more details and the discussion is pretty broad， but a nice easy book to read or listen to。
عبدالرحمن عقاب
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الإحصاء نافذة على على الواقع。 صورة رقمية تدّعي الدقة والمصداقية。 ولأنّ الصورة الإحصائية معادلاتٌ رياضية ونواتج رقمية، فإنّها تبدو مهيبة！ يبتعد الناس عن مساءلتها، استسلامًا لها، وهيبةً لمعادلاتها، فلا يطيلون التحديق فيها。لا يهدف "تيم هارفورد" إلى إقناعنا بقدرة الإحصاء على خداعنا، ولا يطلب منا ترك الإحصاءات والزهد بها。 لكنّه يقدم لنا كتابًا يعيننا على النظر بعمق إلى كلّ رقم أو رسمٍ إحصائي يُقدّم إلينا، أو يتم الترويج له والبناء عليه。 مرةً يشير الكاتب إلى الخلل في المتلقي، ومرةً يشير إلى الخلل في ا الإحصاء نافذة على على الواقع。 صورة رقمية تدّعي الدقة والمصداقية。 ولأنّ الصورة الإحصائية معادلاتٌ رياضية ونواتج رقمية، فإنّها تبدو مهيبة！ يبتعد الناس عن مساءلتها، استسلامًا لها، وهيبةً لمعادلاتها، فلا يطيلون التحديق فيها。لا يهدف "تيم هارفورد" إلى إقناعنا بقدرة الإحصاء على خداعنا، ولا يطلب منا ترك الإحصاءات والزهد بها。 لكنّه يقدم لنا كتابًا يعيننا على النظر بعمق إلى كلّ رقم أو رسمٍ إحصائي يُقدّم إلينا، أو يتم الترويج له والبناء عليه。 مرةً يشير الكاتب إلى الخلل في المتلقي، ومرةً يشير إلى الخلل في المُخرج الإحصائي، ومرةً إلى إشكاليات النموذج التقني نفسه。في عشرة فصول؛ يُقدّم "هارفورد" عشر نصائح لقرّائه。 مستعينًا بالأمثلة القصصية المطولة، وبالإشارة إلى دراسات واقتباسات فكرية من هنا وهناك。 ويختم كتابه بوصية جامعة نقاوم فيها بريق الرقم أو الرسم الإحصائي، أنْ كونوا فضوليين。 كتابٌ جيّد ونصائح مهمة في زمنٍ رقمي بامتياز، وأمثلة كاشفة。 وربما يجد فيه القارئ أمثلة يحياها في سياق جائحة كورونا، التي لم يفت الكاتب الاستشهاد ببعض أحداثها。 ملاحظتي السلبية عن الكتاب تتمحور حول هذا الأسلوب الذي تصطبغ به كتابات "تيم هارفورد"。 أقصد الأسلوب المغرق في القصصية، إسهابًا واستطرادًا، يقابله ميلي الشخصي للتجريد والاختصار。 。。。more
Jack
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Well done TimThis book， like Hartford’s earlier works， is well reasoned， well structured and well written。 It builds to logical conclusions and presents what I felt were convincing arguments。 It includes historical factoids that were new to me and made the book even more interesting。 Some good characters were included to make the stories in each chapter more compelling。 There were a couple of political cheap shots that were unneeded and actually hurt the book， because in a few years they will be Well done TimThis book， like Hartford’s earlier works， is well reasoned， well structured and well written。 It builds to logical conclusions and presents what I felt were convincing arguments。 It includes historical factoids that were new to me and made the book even more interesting。 Some good characters were included to make the stories in each chapter more compelling。 There were a couple of political cheap shots that were unneeded and actually hurt the book， because in a few years they will be forgotten。 I think the rest of the book will stand for quite some time。 。。。more
Rebecca
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I love Tim Harford and I love this book。 Excellent use of stories to teach difficult concepts。
Trevor Kenning
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