Extra Curricular Reading in Statistics



Extra Curricular Reading in Statistics

by

Leland Fidler

(BB&N, AP Statistics, Class of 2006)

 

May 2004

 

|  |Title: Damned Lies and Statistics, J. Best, University of |

|  |California Press, 2001 |

|  |  |

|[pic] |Description: Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best is a great |

|  |book for understanding bad statistics and how they come to be. |

| |This looks like a good book for students to read before taking a |

| |statistics course because, as puts it, "Understanding |

| |this book does not require sophisticated mathematical knowledge."|

| |and "Best discusses the most basic and most easily understood |

| |forms of statistic, such as percentages, averages, and rates." |

| |This book is a good introduction to statistics for someone with |

| |limited experience in the field. |

| |  |

|  |Title: How to Lie With Statistics, D. Huff, W. W. Norton, 1952 |

|  |  |

|[pic] |Description: How to Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff is, while|

|  |slightly dated, a very user-friendly book informing the reader |

| |about the ways in which people manipulate statistics to prove a |

| |point. Huff uses good, clear examples to show things and explain |

| |common ways where people use statistics to make things look the |

| |way they want. This book would be useful for students to read as |

| |outside reading for a statistics course with good applications of|

| |statistics in everyday life. |

|  |Title: The Cartoon Guide to Statistics, L. Gonick and W. Smith, |

|[pic] |Harper Collins, 1993 |

|  |  |

|  |Description: The Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick is a|

| |book that goes a little deeper in statistics than most in |

| |covering hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, etc. However, |

| |as says, "[these topics are] all explained in simple, |

| |clear, and yes, funny illustrations." This book is a good way of |

| |getting students excited about using statistics and could be |

| |helpful in explaining difficult topics in a clear way. |

|  |Title: 200% of Nothing, A.K. Dewdney, John Wiley and Sons, 1993 |

|[pic] |  |

|  |Description: 200% of Nothing by A.K. Dewdney is a book that |

| |helps the reader understand the ways in which people are deceived|

| |by statistics. Dewdney uses real world examples to prove his |

| |points in, as puts it, "clear and disarming". This |

| |book sounds like a good book for students interested in |

| |applications of statistics in everyday life. |

| |  |

|  |Title: Moneyball, Michael Lewis, 2003 |

|  |Description: Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a book that is less |

|[pic] |based on statistics, but portrays the ways in it is applied in |

|  |major league baseball. This book is the story of how Billy Beane,|

| |the general manager of the Oakland A's, was able to use |

| |statistics to make a very solid team using very little money. |

| |This book is more about Billy Beane and the Oakland A's story |

| |than statistics, but it's a good application of statistics and I |

| |would recommend it for the baseball fan in getting excited about |

| |statistics. |

| |  |

|  |Title: Bringing Down the House, Ben Mezrich, 2003 |

|  |Description: Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, like |

|  |Moneyball, is less about the actual statistics than the story of |

|[pic] |how some MIT students used statistics in forming a system of |

| |counting cards playing blackjack. They then used this system to |

| |go to casinos around the world and make millions. At the end of |

| |the book Mezrich outlines the system they used and how they used |

| |statistics to make the cards work in their favor. Again, I |

| |wouldn't recommend it for someone looking for a book about |

| |statistics, but it's a great story about how statistics was |

| |applied to the game of blackjack. |

| |  |

|  |Title: Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown, edited by Judith M. |

|  |Tanur, Fredrick Mosteller, and William H. Kruskal, 1989 |

|  |Desciption: Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown edited by Judith |

|[pic] |M. Tanur, Fredrick Mosteller, and William H. Kruskal is a |

|  |collection of essays about how statistics is applied to everyday |

| |life. This book is heavy reading and a little dated, but has good|

| |applications and detailed descriptions of the statistics |

| |involved. I would recommend this for the intellectual statistics |

| |student looking for the ways in which it statistics relate to |

| |daily life. |

|  |Title: Statistics You Canít Trust, Stephen Kent Campbell, Steve |

|  |Campbell, and Mark V. Hall (illustrator), 1998 |

|  |Description: Statistics You Canít Trust by Stephen Kent Campbell,|

|[pic] |Steve Campbell, and Mark V. Hall is a very well written |

|  |user-friendly guide to how one can see through the statistics |

| |around us. As puts it, ìA nontechnical, cartoon |

| |enhanced, tour of misuses of statistical information in everyday |

| |life.î I would recommend this book for the student who has never |

| |taken statistics and wants to know the basics that they can apply|

| |to their daily life. |

| |  |

|  |Title: The Lady Tasting Tea, David Salsburg, 2001 |

|[pic] |  |

|  |Description: The Lady Tasting Tea by David Salsburg is a book |

| |that describes the link between science and statistics. This book|

| |sounds good for statistics students interested in science and |

| |want to see how they relate. I have not seen this book, but from |

| |its description it sounds like it is, while interesting, a little|

| |heavier reading than the other books here. |

| |  |

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