How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers
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- Create Date：2021-05-02 00:51:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Tim Harford
- ISBN：0349143862
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Summary
When was the last time you read a grand statement， accompanied by a large number， and wondered whether it could really be true？ Statistics are vital in helping us tell stories - we see them in the papers， on social media， and we hear them used in everyday conversation - and yet we doubt them more than ever。
But numbers - in the right hands - have the power to change the world for the better。 Contrary to popular belief， good statistics are not a trick， although they are a kind of magic。 Good statistics are not smoke and mirrors; in fact， they help us see more clearly。 Good statistics are like a telescope for an astronomer， a microscope for a bacteriologist， or an X-ray for a radiologist。 If we are willing to let them， good statistics help us see things about the world around us and about ourselves - both large and small - that we would not be able to see in any other way。
In How to Make the World Add Up， Tim Harford draws on his experience as both an economist and presenter of the BBC's radio show 'More or Less'。 He takes us deep into the world of disinformation and obfuscation， bad research and misplaced motivation to find those priceless jewels of data and analysis that make communicating with numbers worthwhile。 Harford's characters range from the art forger who conned the Nazis to the stripper who fell in love with the most powerful congressman in Washington， to famous data detectives such as John Maynard Keynes， Daniel Kahneman and Florence Nightingale。 He reveals how we can evaluate the claims that surround us with confidence， curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism。
Using ten simple rules for understanding numbers - plus one golden rule - this extraordinarily insightful book shows how if we keep our wits about us， thinking carefully about the way numbers are sourced and presented， we can look around us and see with crystal clarity how the world adds up。
But numbers - in the right hands - have the power to change the world for the better。 Contrary to popular belief， good statistics are not a trick， although they are a kind of magic。 Good statistics are not smoke and mirrors; in fact， they help us see more clearly。 Good statistics are like a telescope for an astronomer， a microscope for a bacteriologist， or an X-ray for a radiologist。 If we are willing to let them， good statistics help us see things about the world around us and about ourselves - both large and small - that we would not be able to see in any other way。
In How to Make the World Add Up， Tim Harford draws on his experience as both an economist and presenter of the BBC's radio show 'More or Less'。 He takes us deep into the world of disinformation and obfuscation， bad research and misplaced motivation to find those priceless jewels of data and analysis that make communicating with numbers worthwhile。 Harford's characters range from the art forger who conned the Nazis to the stripper who fell in love with the most powerful congressman in Washington， to famous data detectives such as John Maynard Keynes， Daniel Kahneman and Florence Nightingale。 He reveals how we can evaluate the claims that surround us with confidence， curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism。
Using ten simple rules for understanding numbers - plus one golden rule - this extraordinarily insightful book shows how if we keep our wits about us， thinking carefully about the way numbers are sourced and presented， we can look around us and see with crystal clarity how the world adds up。
Reviews
Sophia
，
This is not actually a book about numbers; it’s about information， and how to judge it。This book is a fantastic antidote to today’s distrust and disinformation。 It provides for the layperson a set of easy to understand principles for going about your every day life evaluating new information as trustworthy or not。 Many similar books on how to judge facts tend to be “destructive”， as in they tell you how easily you can be mislead。 This sort of attitude can easily result in just blanket mistrust， This is not actually a book about numbers; it’s about information， and how to judge it。This book is a fantastic antidote to today’s distrust and disinformation。 It provides for the layperson a set of easy to understand principles for going about your every day life evaluating new information as trustworthy or not。 Many similar books on how to judge facts tend to be “destructive”， as in they tell you how easily you can be mislead。 This sort of attitude can easily result in just blanket mistrust， leaving you unable to really find any information you can truly believe。 Tim Harford instead provides a “constructive” approach to judging information， based on acknowledging your own biases and finding ways to keep them in mind when deciding if you like information and therefore trust it， or the opposite， instead of trusting it because it’s genuinely credible。 What you get out of it is a way of sensing whether a source is in good faith by presenting the facts accurately， or if they’re trying to make you reason with your emotions， or if you’re even looking at the full picture。The messages in the book have been addressed in many places already。 In fact a lot of the issues discussed are based on other books。 But having read those books （like Invisible Women）， I can safely say that while they carry more information， they can be a pain to read， either because of the miserable topic， or the information overload。 Here instead， while the ‘key takeaways’ can be the same， not only are they condensed in just one book， it’s also presented in a more learnable manner。 For example， the idea of aiming for falsifying theories rather than proving them is （supposed to be） a bedrock of science， but it is not mainstream。 Here instead the same idea is framed as an encouragement to be curious and challenge yourself。 If you are a strong proponent of a certain viewpoint， try and read more articles written defending the opposite。 This can seem obvious when you’re prescribing it to someone who disagrees with you， but it’s less easy to recognise the need to do the same for yourself。 Having said that， this book made me feel really good about myself and attitude towards knowledge， and so according to principle 1， I should be a bit cautious。 I don’t know really if this can get through to the general public， but I really hope it does。 I would recommend this book to as many people as possible， especially if they don’t have the time or willpower to cultivate an incessant curiosity for anything and everything， but still want to have a reasonable grasp of reality。 。。。more
Peter
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A very interesting book， especially if you’ve listenned to the “More or less” podcast。
Craig Beyers
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。Interesting book， but a little difficult to read…but a book with reading， especially for “data nerds”。
Christine Wagner
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This was a lovely book - I really enjoyed it！ Nothing in it was revelatory， but it was wonderful to be reminded of the importance of curiosity， questioning， and critical thinking。 The authors wrote in a conversational tone that made it digestible and easy to recommunicate to someone else。 This is a book I’d share with both data savvy and non-savvy people！
Christopher Soria
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This book is really much more of a guide on how to parse through Media claims， especially those that present data in some way or another。 "Ten easy rules to make sense of media claims，" could've been just a good a subtitle。 It's a great book that I'd recommend anyone read， but especially people who are interested in understanding what makes data more "sticky，" more easily understood， and persuasive without being deceptive。 Overall， however， it's not an information dense read and is written for a This book is really much more of a guide on how to parse through Media claims， especially those that present data in some way or another。 "Ten easy rules to make sense of media claims，" could've been just a good a subtitle。 It's a great book that I'd recommend anyone read， but especially people who are interested in understanding what makes data more "sticky，" more easily understood， and persuasive without being deceptive。 Overall， however， it's not an information dense read and is written for all to enjoy。 The beginning half was much stronger than the second half。 The second half felt a bit on the fluffy side， a bit on the redundant side。 Although I enjoyed the narratives he built up， specifically about Florence Nightingale and crew， this second half seemed a lot heavier on narrative and lighter on the thought provoking bits of information。 Also， the book constantly switched its focus between informing people producing statistics and people consuming them。 I wish it would've focused more on informing people that produce them （my biased opinion）。 However， both perspectives are valuable， and complimentary， and they make the book a lot more entertaining。 。。。more
Kirsty Darbyshire
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This book is basically everything Tim Harford has learnt about statistics and other numbers from looking into them for the Radio 4 series， More or Less， and it's well worth a read。 Well written， easy to read and very informative。 Me & Tim seem to have a pretty similar reading list。 Among the books he cites here that I've read before myself are Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy， Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms， The Art of Stat This book is basically everything Tim Harford has learnt about statistics and other numbers from looking into them for the Radio 4 series， More or Less， and it's well worth a read。 Well written， easy to read and very informative。 Me & Tim seem to have a pretty similar reading list。 Among the books he cites here that I've read before myself are Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy， Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms， The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data， How to Lie with Statistics and Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men are a few I can remember off the top of my head。 And every time he cites a book I haven't read （e。g。 The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable or Thinking， Fast and Slow） I make a mental note that I ought to get round to reading it。 Even having read a lot of the same sources this book is a good summary of making sense of the statistics and data in the world around you。 If you haven't read all those， and don't want to， then I'd recommend just reading this one。 Tim's done all the thinking and you can profit from his insight。 And （spoiler alert？） the final two word conclusion of the book is one I am 100% behind: "be curious"。 。。。more
Maria
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Hartford hosts BBC Podcast on statistics in current affairs， “More or Less”。 He professionally sorts through the shocking news headlines and teases out the statistical stories， showing his listeners how to interpret them。 He provides ten rules for the reader to do the same。 （view spoiler）[1。 Notice your emotions。 How are they impacting your acceptance or rejection of the statistics in front of you？ 2。 ‘Bird’s eye’ statistical perspective， big picture statistics vs。 ‘worm’s eye’ view， personal ex Hartford hosts BBC Podcast on statistics in current affairs， “More or Less”。 He professionally sorts through the shocking news headlines and teases out the statistical stories， showing his listeners how to interpret them。 He provides ten rules for the reader to do the same。 （view spoiler）[1。 Notice your emotions。 How are they impacting your acceptance or rejection of the statistics in front of you？ 2。 ‘Bird’s eye’ statistical perspective， big picture statistics vs。 ‘worm’s eye’ view， personal experience。3。 Labels - what are they telling us？ What are my assumptions？ Do they match？4。 Context matters - how does this compare to past data or studies。5。 Bias - who created the statistics？ Why？ When？ and how？6。 What's missing？ Who wasn't included in the statistics？ Women or people that self-select out。 What changes if they are included？7。 Algortithms - what's in the secret sauce？ We need more intelligent openness to clarify and verify。。。8。 Public statistics - nonpartisan professionals need international cover and appreciation。。。9。 Charts - What is made clearly？ What is being hidden？ 10 Curiosity - an open mind and the ability to question how we might be wrong are vital。 （hide spoiler）]Why I started this book: Recommended to my from several converging sources， I was eager to learn more and be better informed。Why I finished it: Fascinating， engaging and a good reminder that we are a cooperative species。。。 that need good faith actors in the world， government and communities。 And that curiosity is a skill worth cultivating。 Because the right question can change the world。 。。。more
Gordon Diver
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A fantastic read。 Both illuminating and entertaining。
Heidi Larson
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Very straightforward look at statistics， but probably better as an entry into stats vs intermediate level。。
thomas
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Tim Harford is a natural raconteur and he takes a rather boring subject and makes it interesting。A lot of what he says is common sense but we need to hear it because few of us use common sense anymore。
Humzah Yazdani
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Enjoyable but boy oh boy are these economists just regurgitating Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow。 I read Adam Grant's and this book within 2 months of each other and there is a trend。 A few aspects of Kahneman's book are picked up， sprinkled with fanciful stories but at the end of the day， these chapters might as well be blogs。 All of these books should come with a caveat， don't read if you have read Kahneman's book。 Don't get me wrong， I love Tim Harford。 I enjoy his books and podcasts。 I rea Enjoyable but boy oh boy are these economists just regurgitating Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow。 I read Adam Grant's and this book within 2 months of each other and there is a trend。 A few aspects of Kahneman's book are picked up， sprinkled with fanciful stories but at the end of the day， these chapters might as well be blogs。 All of these books should come with a caveat， don't read if you have read Kahneman's book。 Don't get me wrong， I love Tim Harford。 I enjoy his books and podcasts。 I really enjoy his stories。 His Undercover Economist remains to be one of my favorites and my go to book that I gift/recommends。 He has the art of storytelling but blogs shouldn't be books esp when we have a comprehensive account in Thinking Fast and Slow。 。。。more
Laurie
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Tim Harford has a wonderful way of describing every day （and not every day） situations and ways we can look at data to figure out the world around us。 Highly recommend。
Marissa Heintzman
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Easy to read， engaging and entertaining stories， and extremely valuable take-home points （even when a few seem like a stretch or take a while to come around to the point）。 Overall， an excellent book that asks us to take a step back and evaluate things critically before coming to a conclusion-an extremely valuable skill that many of us assume we have， but often fail to utilize。
Natalie
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Wow wow wow wow wow。 I have always prided myself on being a well-informed and reasonable person， but I didn't realize the extent to which I didn't understand （or choose to misunderstand） statistics。 This book is not only thoroughly entertaining， it is also precise and informative。 I learned as much in two days as I did my whole freshman year of college。 Harford presents 10 rules for understanding statistics， some of which are intuitive and some of which are novel。 I had never considered **how*" Wow wow wow wow wow。 I have always prided myself on being a well-informed and reasonable person， but I didn't realize the extent to which I didn't understand （or choose to misunderstand） statistics。 This book is not only thoroughly entertaining， it is also precise and informative。 I learned as much in two days as I did my whole freshman year of college。 Harford presents 10 rules for understanding statistics， some of which are intuitive and some of which are novel。 I had never considered **how*" many statistics are gathered （which matters greatly to the reliability of the same！） Instead， I have the bad habit of dismissing things I disagree with and amplifying the things I agree with。 Now， I am a much savvier connesieur if statistical information。 When you read it， I hope you will be too。Now that I've returned my library copy of the audio book， I'm off to buy a hard copy for reference！ 。。。more
Juanpi
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Nice book but meaningful for people in the uk and the anglo world。 Not international at all
Derek
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Interesting book on what makes statistics interesting and what to avoid and watch out for when reading articles that rely heavily or quote statistics。
Dan Howard
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Very readable， with no math or technical detail， but I think readers' time would be better spent on some of the books referenced by Hartford （e。 g。， Factfulness by Hans Rosling）Also， the author lets a bit too much of his political views work there way into the book。 Gratuitous Trump bashing， etc。 Somewhat ironic in a book that discusses bias in statistics as one of the potential problems。 Very readable， with no math or technical detail， but I think readers' time would be better spent on some of the books referenced by Hartford （e。 g。， Factfulness by Hans Rosling）Also， the author lets a bit too much of his political views work there way into the book。 Gratuitous Trump bashing， etc。 Somewhat ironic in a book that discusses bias in statistics as one of the potential problems。 。。。more
ND Badrinath
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Eye of the beholder How often do we hear the phrase "Lies， damn lies and statistics"？ But statistics， like beauty， lie （pun unintended） in the eye of the beholder。 Tim Hartford demonstrates this wonderful truth。 Great， punchy book。 Eye of the beholder How often do we hear the phrase "Lies， damn lies and statistics"？ But statistics， like beauty， lie （pun unintended） in the eye of the beholder。 Tim Hartford demonstrates this wonderful truth。 Great， punchy book。 。。。more
David Schwan
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I've been listening to Tim Harford for a bit both on NPR and his podcast。 The author takes us through a set of rules to use when approaching statistics and graphs。 I gave this only 4 stars because in places the text gets bogged down。 Two big misconceptions were cleared up after reading this （no spoiler from me as to which ones though）。 The author is part of a team who talks about statistics and numbers on the BBC。 I've been listening to Tim Harford for a bit both on NPR and his podcast。 The author takes us through a set of rules to use when approaching statistics and graphs。 I gave this only 4 stars because in places the text gets bogged down。 Two big misconceptions were cleared up after reading this （no spoiler from me as to which ones though）。 The author is part of a team who talks about statistics and numbers on the BBC。 。。。more
George
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Harford presents 10 guidelines for approaching statistical information。 From assessing any emotional response you might be feeling to thinking critically about the source and limitations or assumptions in the data set， he sums the guidelines up effectively in the final chapter as "Be Curious。" An undoubtedly important topic， the guidelines are fairly basic， but as with many books of this ilk， it isn't about how commonsensical the recommendations are， but more about thinking of the guidelines as Harford presents 10 guidelines for approaching statistical information。 From assessing any emotional response you might be feeling to thinking critically about the source and limitations or assumptions in the data set， he sums the guidelines up effectively in the final chapter as "Be Curious。" An undoubtedly important topic， the guidelines are fairly basic， but as with many books of this ilk， it isn't about how commonsensical the recommendations are， but more about thinking of the guidelines as part of a framework。 The AI chapter feels a bit out of place， but otherwise the book holds together well。 。。。more
Anders Høeg Nissen
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Måske lige i den høje ende， men Tim skriver både vigtig og underholdende pop-statistik， og det er for mig svært ikke at blive begejstret for en bog， der så overbevisende argumenterer for vigtigheden af at være nysgerrig。
Tom
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I've listened to Tim Hartford and have appreciated his insights。 However， I found this book rather boring。 The chapter titles seemed a bit forced and the chapter contents not that relevant to the rule。 I've listened to Tim Hartford and have appreciated his insights。 However， I found this book rather boring。 The chapter titles seemed a bit forced and the chapter contents not that relevant to the rule。 。。。more
John Lazenby
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I loved this。 It was short， clear， easy to read and memorable。 I think it summarizes many different topics I have read elsewhere， learned in school， or heard on podcasts extremely well。 Hartford makes this extremely accessible by drawing on many interesting stories he has covered on his radio program more or less。 My favorite part was his suggestion to consider what a newspaper printed only every 25 years would decide to report on and how that compares to what is offered on a 24 hours news stati I loved this。 It was short， clear， easy to read and memorable。 I think it summarizes many different topics I have read elsewhere， learned in school， or heard on podcasts extremely well。 Hartford makes this extremely accessible by drawing on many interesting stories he has covered on his radio program more or less。 My favorite part was his suggestion to consider what a newspaper printed only every 25 years would decide to report on and how that compares to what is offered on a 24 hours news station or a daily paper。 I'm excited to check out some of his other books！ 。。。more
Graeme Anderson
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As always Tim Harford takes something seemingly boring and makes it incredibly enjoyable to read about。 He puts everything in context by telling great stories of history and using modern examples to illuminate his point。
Sarah
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An easy read with very useful advice and information for most of us。 Well thought out。 Plus half a star but fails to reach 4 - maybe because I've encountered some of it before as I am a big fan of Tim Harford， or maybe because it is very much an introduction rather than containing a lot of detail。 Yet maybe that's just what I need to make me a bit more thoughtful。 Shall write out a list of his 10 rules and put them on the fridge before I take it back to the library！Still can't scale very big num An easy read with very useful advice and information for most of us。 Well thought out。 Plus half a star but fails to reach 4 - maybe because I've encountered some of it before as I am a big fan of Tim Harford， or maybe because it is very much an introduction rather than containing a lot of detail。 Yet maybe that's just what I need to make me a bit more thoughtful。 Shall write out a list of his 10 rules and put them on the fridge before I take it back to the library！Still can't scale very big numbers - that must be in a different book。 。。。more
Peter Tillman
，
I enjoyed this book， but I’m not really up for writing a full review。 So let’s see what I can piece together from my sparse notes。 I can’t find a first-rate review， either here or online， so how to convince you the book is worth reading？ Understanding the basics of interpreting statistical claims is pretty straightforward: be skeptical of grand claims。 Slow down and think things through a bit。 Try not to fall in love with a claim that you find attractive because it’s comfortable。 Be curious: loo I enjoyed this book， but I’m not really up for writing a full review。 So let’s see what I can piece together from my sparse notes。 I can’t find a first-rate review， either here or online， so how to convince you the book is worth reading？ Understanding the basics of interpreting statistical claims is pretty straightforward: be skeptical of grand claims。 Slow down and think things through a bit。 Try not to fall in love with a claim that you find attractive because it’s comfortable。 Be curious: look deeper and ask questions。 Harford thinks cultivating curiosity is the best tool， the Golden Rule。 If this awakens your sense of wonder， so much the better！Harford writes well and is an experienced and fluent pop-science writer。 He did irritate me early on by berating skeptics of some of the more extreme claims about Climate Change as “Climate Deniers，” violating several of his own rules。 Hey， nobody’s perfect。 I think you are likely to get more out of the book if you have some prior experience with using statistics， but any curious reader is likely to find themselves enjoying his stories。 I certainly did， and I have some training and experience in this field， long long ago。 Who knew that Florence Nightingale was a skillful and effective statistician？Recommended for numerate readers。 。。。more
Trevor Vick
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Essential reading in a time when statistics are being hurled at us daily and are frequently used duplicitously。 Provides the tools needed to approach them with a raised eyebrow and an appropriate degree of scepticism。
Chen Yang
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This turned out to be a real informative book， one warning would be: if you are a Trump supporter， you may not like this book。 My favorite two sections are on the survivor bias in publications and on curiosity。 Our current scientific peer review and editorial decision system is prone to bias， as most "reviews" I get are about my conclusion， rather than about materials and methods。 It is almost like that we "know" the truth， and try to publish whatever fits our narrative。 This phenomenon has also This turned out to be a real informative book， one warning would be: if you are a Trump supporter， you may not like this book。 My favorite two sections are on the survivor bias in publications and on curiosity。 Our current scientific peer review and editorial decision system is prone to bias， as most "reviews" I get are about my conclusion， rather than about materials and methods。 It is almost like that we "know" the truth， and try to publish whatever fits our narrative。 This phenomenon has also been exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic （I work in medicine， so this is what I am more familiar with）。 I can remember numerous conversations with， some very respected， colleagues that wanted to urge journals to recall articles because they disagreed with the results， and thus could send a "negative" message to the public。 This presents two problems， one is that we are assuming what is right versus what is wrong， and not trying to present the evidence through rigorous studies。 The other， and probably a more profound problem is that the general public is getting second hand "data" through media （either main stream or social media）， which is undoubtedly biased。 No easy solution here， but well discussed by the author。 Five stars。 。。。more
Corey J。 Davidson
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Version read: AudiobookAn engaging， entertaining and informative read。 Suitable for the stats nerd， researcher and layperson。 This book would make a good addition to the “suggested further reading” section of undergraduate statistics/research methods course syllabi。Highly recommended！
Monica Willyard Moen
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