Key What the Numbers Hide

Financial Times Book of the Year The Sunday Times Book of the Year Best book in the science and technology category according to the Wired Sunday Times Business bestseller. An extremely timely book that shows us that if we stay alert and question how the numbers are presented and where they come from, we can eventually discover all their secrets. Tim Harford, an expert at taking complex ideas and making them understandable to millions of readers, offers us ten simple rules, and one golden rule, so that we can evaluate numbers and statistics with confidence, curiosity and healthy skepticism. When was the last time you heard a big statement with a big number in it and wondered if it was true? Numbers and statistics are hugely important because they help us in everyday communication – we read them in newspapers and on social media, we hear them in conversations – and yet, we question them more than ever. But we don't need to be skeptical of statistics – as long as we understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives. Statistics reflect human behavior through the prism of numbers and are often "the only way to make sense of much of what is going on around us". If we manage to put aside our fears and learn to approach them with clarity, statistics can show us ways to work more efficiently and live better. They wrote: "Wise and useful...exciting." –Financial Times "Tim Harford is the most lovable champion of logic and rigor." –The Times, Book of the Year "Explains the power of numbers and brings it back to the people." –The Guardian “It helps us see beyond our own prejudices. Mandatory reading". – Wired "Ingenious stories that boost our acumen." – Malcolm Gladwell "No one presents statistics as compellingly and entertainingly as Tim Harford." – Bill Bryson “We need books like this more than ever. Essential reading for every politician and journalist. The rest will get pleasure from the reading and strength from the positive way it deconstructs the concepts of deception and illusion." – Stephen Fry “If you're looking for an addictive book that will make you smarter, you've just found it” – Rutger Bregman “A fun read, but also a really important book.” – David Epstein "It's been a long time since I've read such wonderful stories...amazing book." – Stephen Levitt, author of Points and Monsters of Economics “Wise, humane and, above all, enlightening. No one is better at statistics and numbers – and making sense of them.” – Matthew Syed