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Is That A Fact?: A Field Guide to Statistical and Scientific Information
Mark Battersby
€ 43.77
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Description for Is That A Fact?: A Field Guide to Statistical and Scientific Information
Paperback. Explains how to identify misleading statistics, and gives readers the understanding necessary to evaluate and use statistical information in their own decision-making. Graphs and illustrations are used to visually illustrate concepts, while cartoons liven the discussion and connect the book's ideas to familiar and humorous contexts. Num Pages: 260 pages, Illustrations. BIC Classification: HPL; JHBC; PD. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 156 x 228 x 23. Weight in Grams: 396.
How much should we trust the polls on the latest electoral campaign? When a physician tells us that a diagnosis of cancer is 90% certain or a scientist informs us that recent studies support global warming, what should we conclude? Questions such as these are greatly important, yet many of us have only a vague sense of how to answer them. In Is That a Fact?, Mark Battersby aims not only to explain how to identify misleading statistics, but also to give readers the understanding necessary to evaluate and use statistical information in their own decision-making. Graphs and illustrations are used to visually illustrate concepts, while cartoons liven the discussion and connect the book's ideas to familiar and humorous contexts. This second edition is revised and updated throughout, and includes a new chapter on the weighting of risks in public policy-making.
Product Details
Publisher
Broadview Press Ltd
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2016
Condition
New
Weight
396 g
Number of Pages
260
Place of Publication
Peterborough, Canada
ISBN
9781554812448
SKU
V9781554812448
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-12
About Mark Battersby
Mark Battersby is Professor of Philosophy at Capilano University, USA (retired).
Reviews for Is That A Fact?: A Field Guide to Statistical and Scientific Information
Praise for Is That A Fact: Is That a Fact? is conceived as an updating for the Internet Age of Darrell Huff's immensely popular 1954 classic, How to Lie with Statistics, with a somewhat broader focus.... Huff's book has sold more than a million copies. Is That a Fact? deserves a similarly large readership.
David Hitchcock, McMaster University, in Informal Logic Using timely and important examples, Professor Battersby provides a careful and well-documented discussion of statistics, and does this without sacrificing liveliness or readability. Is That a Fact? is a fascinating book about statistics to give to all your friends.
Trudy Govier, University of Lethbridge A delightful discussion that beautifully clarifies what is all too often confusing or just plain confused. The book will help ordinary citizens to better understand and evaluate all sorts of scientific claims as they occur in the popular press and public policy debates. Hats off to Mark Battersby!
Harvey Siegel, University of Miami Mark Battersby's Is That a Fact? is not a statistics book, but rather a book that will help thoughtful people to better notice the actual grounds (or lack thereof) of claims they are called upon or inclined to believe. This second edition adds new material (such as that on internet polling) and new and better graphics.
David Weber, Portland State University One of the intellectual currents of our time has been a revolution in the study of reasoning and argument. Philosophers and other academics have broadened their horizons and turned their attention to the study and analysis of the reasoning, arguments, and attempts at persuasion that inundate our lives. Mark Battersby has been an integral part of the movement in this direction. In Is That a Fact? he provides an engaging and thoroughly readable introduction to critical thinking on statistical and scientific claims. It can usefully inform the thinking of everyone who has to contend with such claims in their professional or personal lives.
Leo Groarke, President of Trent University
David Hitchcock, McMaster University, in Informal Logic Using timely and important examples, Professor Battersby provides a careful and well-documented discussion of statistics, and does this without sacrificing liveliness or readability. Is That a Fact? is a fascinating book about statistics to give to all your friends.
Trudy Govier, University of Lethbridge A delightful discussion that beautifully clarifies what is all too often confusing or just plain confused. The book will help ordinary citizens to better understand and evaluate all sorts of scientific claims as they occur in the popular press and public policy debates. Hats off to Mark Battersby!
Harvey Siegel, University of Miami Mark Battersby's Is That a Fact? is not a statistics book, but rather a book that will help thoughtful people to better notice the actual grounds (or lack thereof) of claims they are called upon or inclined to believe. This second edition adds new material (such as that on internet polling) and new and better graphics.
David Weber, Portland State University One of the intellectual currents of our time has been a revolution in the study of reasoning and argument. Philosophers and other academics have broadened their horizons and turned their attention to the study and analysis of the reasoning, arguments, and attempts at persuasion that inundate our lives. Mark Battersby has been an integral part of the movement in this direction. In Is That a Fact? he provides an engaging and thoroughly readable introduction to critical thinking on statistical and scientific claims. It can usefully inform the thinking of everyone who has to contend with such claims in their professional or personal lives.
Leo Groarke, President of Trent University