How to Make the World Add Up

Statistics are just a way of dressing up lies to give them authority - right? This is the view that we have come dangerously close to accepting as the norm, not least thanks to the landmark book How to Lie with Statistics, but also the efforts of many politicians and businesspeople since. But is it true? And if not, how dangerous is it to think it's true?

In this book, numbers, economics and ideas guru Tim Harford takes a deep dive into the world of statistics, showing us not just how stats are developed and perceived but also how their power and influence is changing. From art forgery to fake news and big data to dangerous political narratives, this extraordinary book relays the stories behind our understanding of what numbers mean, and shows why using them properly can give us unparalleled insight into every area of life.

Tim Harford is a senior columnist for the Financial Times and the presenter of Radio 4's More or Less. He was the winner of the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism in 2006, and More or Less was commended for excellence in journalism by the Royal Statistical Society in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Harford lives in Oxford with his wife and three children, and is a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. His other books include The Undercover Economist, The Logic of Life and Adapt.

Statistics are just a way of dressing up lies to give them authority - right? This is the view that we have come dangerously close to accepting as the norm, not least thanks to the landmark book How to Lie with Statistics, but also the efforts of many politicians and businesspeople since. But is it true? And if not, how dangerous is it to think it's true?In this book, numbers, economics and ideas guru Tim Harford takes a deep dive into the world of statistics, showing us not just how stats are developed and perceived but also how their power and influence is changing. From art forgery to fake news and big data to dangerous political narratives, this extraordinary book relays the stories behind our understanding of what numbers mean, and shows why using them properly can give us unparalleled insight into every area of life.

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