Naked Statistics

Charles Wheelan has done a great job here. There are so many dull statistics resources out there that start with a formula, use a cliched example, and don't explain the intuition behind the principles or how they inter-relate or relate to the real world. This book is the polar opposite. Wheelan explains a problem or a phenomenon, normally an interesting one that isn't contrived, and then shows how stats and probability can help us understand it. Some of the issues discussed are: - Using standard error and confidence intervals to explain why political polls can be highly accurate - Using regression analysis to explain why some UK civil servants might be at risk of health problems - How Netflix and Target use statistical inferences for recommending stuff On top of that there are some brain teasers in here (like the Monty Hall problem) and nuanced discussions of how some people misuse statistics (even unintentionally) leading to bad results. This book connected a lot of dots for me because it brings together the concepts in a very integrated way. The writing is extremely clear, and often funny and self-deprecating. It gets at the intuition behind the big ideas and how they link up. The math is not ignored but not overcomplicated either. You get to see the "big picture". Some people say that the book is quite US centric; that's undeniable. I too am not a huge fan of US sports anecdotes in books because as a Brit I can barely relate. However I found that this did not impede my understanding. One minor issue I had with the book was that the square root symbols were all messed up (there were just lots of floating dots over the numbers, maybe a printing issue). To sum up, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the fundamentals of stats and probability in a highly entertaining and practical way. I will be re-reading this one.

Naked Statistics is a good way to remind yourself what statistics is about, or if new to the subject, get a solid grasp of the basics. It is a fine complement to a dry textbook, in that it covers the groundwork in a clear, approachable and entertaining way that is not overly mathematically demanding. Appendices delve deeper into theory and can be read or ignored as the reader wishes. The first two thirds of the book is particularly good, breezing competently through key statistical concepts up to and including the Central Limit Theorem. Many people may be drawn to the book because of the growing importance of 'big data'. Wheelan takes this topic on board with a focus on regression analysis, and is not afraid to discuss the pitfalls as well as the benefits of the more abstract 'darker' arts of statistics. However, given the choice between a candid acknowledgements of the fundamental limitations of statistics and an uncomplicated view that 'as long as its done well all will be fine', Wheelan goes in the simpler, more positive direction, even when cheerfully supporting claims that over half of the top-flight peer reviewed scientific papers that draw conclusions from the techniques he proposes are likely to be wrong. Instead, Wheelan argues that brilliant statistical research simply requires brilliant researchers (guess who?) - and that brilliance is not about being good at the maths, but about a having a creative and intuitive grasp of what works. There are two problems with this. One is that observant readers may well spot flaws in the exemplars Wheelan presents as brilliant. The second (and more important) is that the power of statistics is meant to be its ability to reveal insights that are drawn entirely objectively, yet it is clear that many mistakes in statistical research are due to failings in the researchers' subjective and interpretive skills - in other words, the maths disappears - advanced stats is a matter of judgement (so why not rely on judgement and abandon the somewhat bogus claim of objectivity?). Consequently (and slightly disappointingly), Wheelan's concluding chapter is all about the amazing contribution statistics will continue to make to solving the world's most pressing problems, rather than a more reflective assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. All this said, this is a likeable and workmanlike book that treats a potentially dry subject with significant flair.

In the wrong hands, statistics can be a dangerous thing. In the right hands, there's still no guarantee that the statistics you're reading in your newspaper or on your screen are much more trustworthy. In Naked Statistics, Charles Wheelan provides a little bit of a toolkit to give the uninitiated a fighting chance of at least recognising the potential pitfalls in the analysis they're reading and to ask some smart questions about its foundations. Wheelan lays out his stall pretty early, making it clear that he's not a numbers for their own sake person. Numbers to him are only of any interest if there's a point, and he proceeds to explain why statistics are, in the final analysis, potentially a useful and friendly set of devices for explanation and, quite importantly, identification of potentially the best way to respond to a problem or need in government or business. In generally clear language he explains the basics of descriptive statistics, correlation, probability, polling and regression analysis, as well as outlining some common pitfalls and how they may be circumvented. The writing style is clear and lively, and the examples he uses are practical and engaging, although the sports examples are very much oriented to the American reader, with abundant reference to Lebron James, quarterback ratings and at bat averages. In some ways, from that point of view it's something of a complement to Scorecasting, a book that applies principles of behavioural economics to sports (explaining, amongst other things, the reason for "Fergie time" and home field advantage). But it isn't by any means all sports. One of the examples he dwells on is the use of Value at Risk (VaR) in banks, one of the infallible tools that told bankers that subprime mortgages would not pose a problem to their institutions, let alone precipitate a global financial crisis that would persist for six years and counting. The BBC documentary series Bankers focused on VaR in one programme, showing how excessive faith in the model had brought down MF Global, ably abetted by the hubris of former Goldman Sachs CEO and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and how selective use of the model led to the infamous "London whale" debacle at JPMorgan. Ironically, VaR was developed at JPMorgan, and one of the "quants" responsible, Till Guldimann, was interviewed for the BBC series, opining that VaR was good for measuring risk, but not for managing it. Wheelan reveals that actually it wasn't even much good for measurement, given that the data underlying the model was based on the boom period between the eighties and the turn of the millennium. He compares it to a faulty speedometer, worse than no speedometer at all, giving confidence where none is due. Naturally there are a couple of issues. His comparison between the Businessweek phenomenon, where business leaders featured on the cover for receiving high profile awards are guaranteed to be about to fail big time, and the Sports Illustrated effect, where athletes on a winning streak featured on the cover are about to hit a dry spell, one due to overconfidence, the other possibly because the winning streak was just a matter of luck, is valid enough. But he forgets to mention that sometimes behind the athlete's winning streak is a lifetime of practice, and the fall often due to injury (let's hear it for Carson Palmer, or in English Michael Owen). Though mostly explanations are clear, I'm still not sure his distinction between "precision" and "accuracy" work that well, certainly for me. More importantly, in one instance (p198 in the hardback) the term "dependent variable" appears where "independent variable" is intended, and he doesn't explain very well why it's the 99th percentile that represents the top 1%, not the 100th percentile (a little chart might have helped there, perhaps). Those aside, however, I definitely found myself wishing I'd read this book before I studied econometrics. I think the veil would have lifted much earlier.

I never thought that a book on statistics would make me feel like writing a review; but this book was a really good read - in fact I would say that it is brilliant. That's why I rated it as 5 stars. What I liked the most about it was the fact that it related the statistics to real life scenarios and made it relatable. I was able to read this like any other book without needing a pen and paper unless I wanted to, and I just found it to be such a good read and informative and helpful for me to understand statistics. The best chapters were about regression analysis; I learned linear regression during my degree and used linear regression analyses when I was a chemist working in the labs but I believe I had a superficial knowledge of the subject and its capabilities. It was a really good book to fill the gaps and just a good book. Recommend it to everyday people and I will be reading it again.

Ever since I picked it up, I have been unable to let it go. The book has taught me a great deal, and the stories have taken me on a great adventure. With the help of this book and another title titled "statistics without tears", I have built my statistical foundation. The book is one I will read over and over again and would recommend it to everyone. This book is full of fun, exposition, attention-grabbing material, and an interesting take on statistics. Students would be more inclined to love statistics if all students were taught the subject as Charles Wheelan did. This book has provided me with a great deal of information and I am interested in learning more. I would appreciate any recommendations for a book that provides an overview of advanced statistics in a similar manner.

I never expected a book about statistics to be interesting, but I'm pleased to say that this book made what I previously considered to be a boring topic interesting. I'm halfway through the book already. It doesn't teach the mathematics, but helps to put context into the numbers and shows how they can be used to enlighten (or mislead). My only disappointment is that there are too many stories and anecdotes relating to the USA, so for a British reader, I feel slightly detached from some of the stories used to explain how statistics work. Nevertheless, the writer is very engaging. It's certainly worth checking out.

This has been sitting on my wishlist for a while and bit the bullet and bought it when it was recommended by a couple of Professors for a "friendly refresher" of the basics of statistics, to accompany more advanced reading. I wasn't expecting much, but Wheelan blew me away with the awesomeness which he squeezed into this book. If it isn't already, this should be on the reading list of every undergraduate at University. Heck, it should be on EVERYONES' reading list! It starts with an introduction to the basics and progresses into more advanced material. All along the way, he explains all of the concepts extremely well and uses examples to get the point across. It's a shame a lot of his examples are Americanized, but you still get the point he's trying to make. As a graduate student, I kept up with this and found it a useful refresher and something which I can revisit to clarify topics in the future on a couple of the more advanced points. But, being honest, this is approachable for anybody with an interest in statistics and its usefulness in everyday life. If you have a really basic knowledge, you might have to re-read some of the concluding chapters once or twice, but Wheelan writes very well so I wouldn't expect this to be much of a chore. Just to conclude, it's a shame that more statistics book aren't like this. He makes a terrifying subject A LOT more approachable and something (SHOCK!) that we can find fun in! Wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone.

I almost didn’t purchase this after seeing reviews saying it’s not for non-US readers. I will say I know nothing about baseball but in all honesty it didn’t mention it that much, just a bit in the beginning. I’m not a stats novice but I wanted to grasp the basics better and this book helped me do that. Would absolutely recommend, also found the examples funny (some stats books end up being cringey because of weird examples, but I enjoyed these).

The author of the book did a great job ! The book is highly valuable for a variety of reasons: it is well structured, easy to understand for anyone - even people lacking mathematical education. It is full of practical illustrations and most importantly it made me want to go deeper into the subject with more mathematical books about probability theory and statistics. A must-read for anyone looking for an easy introduction to statistics !

I never thought I would laugh while reading about statistics. This book is absolutely wonderful, I can't recommend it enough! It has VERY good and clear explanations of statistical concepts, step by step, all the way from the concept behind every analysis (which is usually so hard to find on the internet) to the formula (which you will understand too). Most importantly, it addresses the use and misuse of statistics, which I found highly useful and interesting. The author is a fun guy and he writes in a very human and dynamic tone, so the book felt very entertaining. If you have been wanting to learn or understand the roots of statistics, do read this one. Thanks to the author for such a great piece!

Como profesora de estadística puedo decir que esta es una de las mejores compras que he hecho. El contenido es claro, conciso y lleno de un sentido del humor que hace disfrutar más la lectura. Absolutamente recomendable.

"Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data" is a book written by Charles Wheelan. It's designed to make the subject of statistics accessible, interesting, and less intimidating to people who may not have a strong background in mathematics or statistics. Here's an overview of what the book covers: Wheelan introduces the basic concepts of statistics in a clear, easy-to-understand manner. He focuses on making the subject approachable and relevant, using real-life examples and humor. The book explains how statistics are used in various aspects of daily life, from sports and politics to weather forecasts and medical studies. This approach helps to demystify statistics and show its practical value. Topics such as correlation vs. causation, the importance of sample size, regression analysis, and probability are explained in a non-technical language. While the book is accessible to beginners, it also delves into more complex statistical concepts, making it useful for those who have some background in the subject but wish to deepen their understanding. "Naked Statistics" is often recommended for students, professionals, or anyone who wants to understand the basics of statistics without getting bogged down in complex formulas and technical jargon. It's praised for its ability to make a challenging subject both understandable and entertaining.

Entertaining and informative. Anyone can read this any understand things about statistics that they just kind of glossed over before. The reason it works is the author's focus on an entertaining writing style, meaning that it doesn't feel heavy even though it focuses on some very important topics.