Summary

How does Netflix decide which movies you would like? How are schools that cheat on standardized tests caught out? What are batting averages, after all, but statistics, statistics, statistics. The author of the best-selling Naked Economics engagingly explains a subject that has most of us yawning or quivering in our boots.


Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly transforming into a discipline that Hal Varian at Google has actually called sexy. And with good reason-from batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics is growing by leaps and bounds. In Naked Statistics, Charles Wheelan strips away the arcane and technical details to get at the underlying intuition that is so key to understanding the power of statistical concepts. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you’ll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? Statistics can be used to tackle these questions and others that are incredibly important and relevant to us today. With the trademark wit, accessibility, and sheer fun that turned Naked Economics into a bestseller, Wheelan brings another essential discipline to life with that one-in-a-million statistics book that you’ll read for pleasure.