Naked Statistics: Stripping The Dread From The Data, by Charles Wheelan

Mathematics is the sort of subject that a lot of people fear, but when it comes to understanding the world around us, statistics is among the most useful and important subjects to master. This book’s title is more than a little cheeky, but the contents of the book are not immoral at all, but rather bluntspoken and practical of the kind that should appeal to many people who are not necessarily fond of mathematics but can be convinced that it is a worthwhile subject to understand at least. I found this book to be very good–by no means perfect–but very good, although as someone who is fond of mathematics, especially statistics and probability, this book was not aimed at me as I am someone who already approaches the subject of mathematics without fear and trembling. If you think that you might be persuadable that having a working knowledge of probability and statistics will make life better, and have the ability to learn at least some basic mathematical principles (this book is light on the heavy equations, mercifully), then this book is certainly one that could do the trick nicely.

What sort of practical elements does this book discuss, and how does it deal with the need for statistics in the contemporary world? The author is aware that he is dealing with an audience that is potentially skeptical, and goes after some relatively easy statistical matters. Among the more useful aspects of statistics for people in their normal lives is the desire to compare the best athletes of all time, which is something that can be undertaken with the right statistics–though admittedly the author does not talk about WAR or WAR+, which attempts a comprehensive comparison of someone’s value as a player across positions and time periods. The author also talks about search algorithms and how they recognize products that we want, as well as the folly of buying extended warranties on cheap technology. For those who are interested in the financial shenanigans that led to the Great Recession, this book deals with those matters as well, blaming overconfident math geeks, reminding us that sometimes those who think they are knowledgeable about math can cause just as much trouble (or more) than those who admit their ignorance about it. Some of the aspects of this book I have written about before, including the Monty Hall problem, where people often overestimate their confidence in their initial choice, thus making them twice as likely to get stuck with a goat (although goats can be tasty when cooked correctly). There are a lot of different ways to appreciate this book, and that is a good thing.

In terms of its contents, this book is a bit more than 250 pages long and it is divided into thirteen chapters. The book begins with an introduction where the author explains why he hated calculous but loves statistics, after which he gives his acknowledgements. The author then discusses the point of the book (and learning statistics) (1), as well as discussing descriptive statistics and their relationship with sports, along with an appendix for those who want further coverage (2). After this the author discusses misleading descriptions (3) as well as correlation (4) and how it can be used to help tie together things that are connected to each other, like our preferences in movies. This is followed by a discussion of basic probability (5) as well as a sorta chapter (5 1/2) on the Monty Hall problem. The author discusses problems with probability (6), where he discusses how math geeks underestimated the probability of economic failure, as well as the importance of good data in making appropriate conclusions (7). The author discusses the importance of the Central Limit Theorem in improving our guesses and understanding while estimating (8), devotes a chapter to inference where he deals with how teachers catch cheaters (9), and discusses polling and its sampling error, as well as why polls sometimes go rogue (10). The author discusses regression analysis (11), common regression mistakes (12), and examines whether or not going to Harvard will change someone’s life (13). The book ends with five questions that statistics can help answer, an appendix on statistical software, notes, and an index.