Reading Between the Numbers: Statistical Thinking in Everyday Life

Explains how statistics are applied in our everyday lives. This book draws on diverse examples like how pills are manufactured, elections are forecast, and chess tournaments are structured. It familiarizes readers with variables, means, medians, scales of measurement, sampling, estimating, and other stock-in-trade tools of the statistician.

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This quirky, fast-paced excursion through the world of statistics brings basic statistical concepts down to earth for general readers by showing how statistics are applied in our everyday lives. Drawing on such diverse examples as how pills are manufactured, elections are forecast, and chess tournaments are structured, psychologist Joseph Tal familiarizes readers with variables, means, medians, scales of measurement, sampling, estimating, and other stock-in-trade tools of the statistician. This is an unusually lively, informal review of statistical concepts. The features of "Reading Between the Numbers" are: dozens of fascinating, often whimsical examples drawn from real life and literature, and 100 vivid graphs and tables; makes statistics fun and easy for general readers interested in numbers; is the ideal quick-study guide for those who need to learn statistical methods for their jobs; focuses on the psychology behind statistics, rather than problem-solving; and is based on the author's popular professional workshops and seminars.