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How to Read Numbers

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How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them)
The title, pie chart and author names in the style of a newspaper clipping against a red background
Author
  • Tom Chivers
  • David Chivers
SubjectStatistics in journalism, healthcare and politics
PublisherWeidenfeld & Nicolson
Publication date
March 2021
Pages200
ISBN9781474619974

How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them) is a 2021 British book by Tom and David Chivers. It describes misleading uses of statistics in the news, with contemporary examples about the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare, politics and crime. The book was conceived by the authors, who were cousins, in early 2020. It received positive reviews for its readability, engagingness, accessibility to non-mathematicians and applicability to journalistic writing.

Background

Tom and David Chivers, cousins, wrote a proposal for the book in the first months of 2020 after complaining to each other about a news story with poor interpretation of numerical data. The proposal used a case study of deaths at a university that was cut from the final book and briefly mentioned the incoming COVID-19 pandemic.[1] At the time of writing, Tom Chivers was a science editor for UnHerd[2]—winning Statistical Excellence in Journalism Awards from the RSS in 2018 and 2020[3][4]—and author of one previous book, The Rationalist's Guide to the Galaxy.[5] David Chivers was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Durham.[2] Tom Chivers viewed journalists as more literate than numerate and incentivised to make information sound dramatic; David Chivers said the "publish or perish" motivation in academia could have a similar effect.[1]

The authors believed statistics could be given more prominence in school curricula and that numerical understanding should be viewed like literacy. Tom Chivers received some feedback from school and university teachers that they had use the book in their teaching. David Chivers said it was common to view maths as calculations rather than as interpretation of what numerical information means in context.[1]

The book was released in March 2021.[6] It concludes with a "statistical style guide", recommended for journalists. The authors presented this at the Significance lecture in 2021.[2]

Reception

In a nomination for Chalkdust's 2021 Book of the Year, a reviewer lauded the "readable and enjoyable" brevity of chapters, the clarity and conciseness of explanations and the utility for non-mathematicians.[7] Writing in The Big Issue, Stephen Bush approved of its light tone, informativeness and separation of expository mathematical material into optional sections.[5] Vivek Kaul of Mint praised its simplicity and the importance of the final chapter.[8]

Martin Chilton recommended the book in The Independent as informative and enjoyable, saying that the Chivers "make sense of dense material and offer engrossing insights".[6][9] In The Times, Manjit Kumar described that "the authors do a splendid job of stringing words together so smartly that even difficult concepts are explained and understood with deceptive ease".[10] Rainer Hank of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said that he had learned much from the book and that such engaging educational materials, with little mathematical knowledge required, could lead to better journalism.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bennett, Daniel (12 April 2021). "Tom Chivers and David Chivers on how to understand statistics". BBC Science Focus. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "News". Significance. 18 (5): 2–3. 29 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Statistical Excellence in Journalism Awards 2018: Winners" (PDF). Royal Statistical Society. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Statistical Excellence in Journalism Awards 2020: Winners". Royal Statistical Society. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bush, Stephen (16 May 2021). "How to Read Numbers by Tom Chivers and David Chivers: Light and fun". The Big Issue. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b Chilton, Martin (28 December 2020). "The books to look out for in 2021: From Snow Country to Milk Fed". The Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ "How to Read Numbers (Review)". Chalkdust. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ Kaul, Vivek (27 December 2021). "Ten books of 2021 that you must not miss". Mint. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  9. ^ Chilton, Martin (7 March 2021). "Here Comes the Sun". The Independent. ProQuest 2497617029.
  10. ^ Kumar, Manjit (10 April 2021). "How to Read Numbers by Tom Chivers and David Chivers review — a beginner's guide to statistics". Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ Hank, Von Rainer (21 June 2021). "Lügen mit der Corona-Statistik" [Lies with the Coronavirus Statistics]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 13 February 2024.

Further reading

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