author : Gary Smith

All of these ‘facts’ have been argued with a straight face by researchers and backed up with reams of data and convincing statistics. However, as the famous saying goes, ‘there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics’. In Standard Deviations, Gary Smith walks us through the various tricks and traps that people use to back up their own mad theories, from those who deliberately try to mislead us, to the well-intentioned who are blissfully unaware of the mischief they are committing.

Today, big data sets are so plentiful that researchers spend precious little time distinguishing between good, meaningful deductions and total rubbish. Standard Deviations explains the science behind the new ‘discoveries’ announced daily to the world, and brings into stark relief the fraud that surrounds us all, demonstrating not only how others use data to fool us, but how we often fool ourselves.