A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics

Reviews / Votes

In a post-truth world, Levitin's book is an invaluable primer on how to sort the fact from the fiction * Sunday Times * As a lucid guide to critical thinking about statistics, information and assertion it is profoundly welcome * Observer * The world is awash with data, but not always with accurate information. A Field Guide to Lies does a terrific job of illustrating the difference between the two with precision-and delightful good humour -- Charles Wheelan, author of 'Naked Economics' Daniel Levitin's field guide is a critical thinking primer for our shrill, data-drenched age. From the way averages befuddle to the logical fallacies that sneak by us, every page is enlightening -- Charles Duhigg, author of 'The Power of Habit' and 'Smarter, Faster, Better' A guide for those who wish to test the authenticity of information that inundates us from every corner, dark and light, of the Web * Washington Post * A Field Guide to Lies by the neuroscientist Daniel Levitin lays out the many ways in which each of us can be fooled and misled by numbers and logic, as well as the modes of critical thinking we will need to overcome this * Wall Street Journal * Smart, timely, and massively useful * Globe and Mail, Toronto * Much like Nate Silver's (New York Times bestselling!) The Signal and the Noise, Levitin's is that rare book that makes statistics both understandable and at times even intriguing * MacLean's * A valuable primer on critical thinking that convincingly illustrates the prevalence of misinformation in everyday life * Publishers Weekly * The timing could not be better...a survival manual for the post-factual error. Levitin offers a set of intellectual tools to help distinguish the real from the unreal, and often surreal ... both engaging and rewarding * Literary Review of Canada * Valuable tools for anyone willing to evaluate claims and get to the truth of the matter * Kirkus Reviews * Misinformation is a curse of the information age, and Levitin offers blow-by-blow demonstrations of how words, numbers and graphics can be manipulated to distort truth * Stanford Magazine * Just as Strunk and White taught us how to communicate better, the Field Guide to Lies is an indispensable guide to thinking better. -- Jasper Rine, Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Development, UC Berkeley Regardless of one's political persuasion (apolitical, third party, democratic, or republican) all individuals of this nation would benefit from making the effort to read and understand the concepts presented in this book. Eminently easy to read. * Portland Book Review * Levitin talks about the crucial role of critical thinking and seeking out the truth in today's media landscape -- Michael Krasny * NPR Forum * I could not put this book down. I am so impressed with Levitin's writing style, which is clear and simple, unlike much of the murky stuff that is written by statisticians and many others. -- Morris Olitsky, former Vice President, Market Research and Analysis, Prudential Financial, Statistician, U.S.D.A. This is a wonderful book. It covers so many of the insights of science, logic, and statistics that the public needs to know, yet are sadly neglected in the education that most of us receive. -- Edward K. Cheng, Tarkington Chair of Teaching Excellence and professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School Insightful and entertaining-an excellent work -- Gregg Gascon, Biomedical Informatics, Ohio State University No book could be more timely. An important book for everyone to read. Essential to where western democracies are going -- Janice Stein, Founding Director, Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto More insights per page than any other neuroscientist I know... smart, important, exquisitely written -- Daniel Gilbert on 'The Organized Mind' Deservedly a bestseller -- Independent on 'The Organized Mind'