How to tell the liars from the statisticians / Robert Hooke ; with illustrations by Joseph M. Liles.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Statistics are -- Statistics is -- Worry -- More on worry -- Statistics and chances -- Measuring chances -- Chances and drug laws -- The broad-base fallacy -- the unmentioned base -- The Elmer Gantry effect -- When the truth is not the whole truth -- Ceteris paribus -- Statistics of discrimination -- A paradox in discrimination statistics -- Smoking and cancer -- People are different -- Risk taking in industry -- The risk taker's image -- When should we take chances? -- Cost accounting -- Bridges, underpasses, and corporate profits -- Are you average enough? -- Infatuation with averages -- The law of averages, compulsive gambling, and the rubber band theory -- A rational view of luck -- Luck and skill combined -- Luck and dependence -- Confidence and dependence -- Sports "form" and consistency -- Who is unemployed? -- Cost of living -- Trade-offs -- False alarms -- Liberals and conservatives -- One-armed consultants -- The GGFTGN, the Bill of Rights, and other things -- Things to think about while waiting to see the doctor -- Zero or nothing? -- Quality control and "zero defects" -- Scaling up and down -- More is less -- Large samples and bad news -- Rare floods, rare scientists, and frustrated authors -- The world is getting smaller -- Population size and the quality of life -- Raisins, nuts, and samples -- Political polls -- Opinion surveys -- Television ratings -- more of the same -- The significance of significance -- Garbage in -- Garbage out -- The double negative and the consumer -- The double negative and social science -- What is correlation? -- The coin that won't stand on edge -- Guilt by association -- Psychological tests and job success -- Credit and your computer kin -- College entrance tests -- Science and statistics -- The scientific method -- Looking backward vs. looking forward -- Controlled experimentation -- Cause and effect -- Value judgments and planning -- Serendipity -- puttering vs. planning 00 Unconscious dishonesty -- Watch out for 67% -- What experimenters can learn from football and card players -- A digression on random digits and computer simulation -- Generalizations -- Within vs. between -- A thought about stereotypes -- Longevity at the hot corner -- Let's save some money -- There are no easy solutions -- Separating the liars from the statisticians.