I've been enjoying The Innovation Delusion by Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell. Particularly interesting when it gets to the joys and challenges of maintenance. My colleague Gavin Jackon has recently published Money in One Lesson in the UK (US publication in April) - a...
“She may look at it because it has pictures.” That was Florence Nightingale’s withering comment, as she sent a report about public health reform to Queen Victoria.Nightingale was not much impressed with the Queen (“The least self-reliant person I have ever known”)....
The Prime Minister made much the same false statement to parliament on 24 Nov, 5 Jan, 12 Jan and 2 Feb. @FullFact have repeatedly requested a correction and the Office for Statistics Regulation have written to his office to ask him to stop. The claim is important in...
To celebrate paperback publication day of "The Data Detective", and in no particular order... The Art of Statistics by David Spiegelhalter @D_Spiegel is a wide-ranging guide to how statistics work, full of vivid and humane examples by the world's greatest living...
At 2am on October 9th, 1974, police in the picturesque tidal basin area of Washington DC spotted a speeding car, weaving around, headlights off. They pulled it over, and out jumped a flamboyantly dressed woman, yelling in both English and Spanish. She promptly threw...
“The crooks already know these tricks; honest men must learn them in self-defense.” – so wrote nerd legend Darrell Huff, in his million-selling “How To Lie With Statistics” (1954). It’s a delightful little work, full of deceptive graphics, spurious correlations,...
I've been sent an advanced copy of Oliver Roeder's book Seven Games, and of course I'm delighted both by the premise and its execution. Roeder, a game theorist, puzzle fan and keen game player, dives deep into the world of high-level play of seven classic games:...
There's a fine line to walk between writing a book that argues that our mental state is surprisingly powerful, and writing a book that argues that if you ask the universe for a gift, the universe will respond. But @D_A_Robson walks the line skilfully here with The...
Publication day approaches for the paperback of "The Data Detective" (1 Feb). As always, pre-orders of the paperback, positive reviews if you've read the hardback, spreading the word - all are so valuable and very gratefully received. The UK edition of the same book,...