Eileen Magnello

From the medicine we take, the treatments we receive, the aptitude and psychometric tests given by employers, the cars we drive, the clothes we wear to even the beer we drink, statistics have given shape to the world we inhabit. For the media, statistics are routinely 'damning', 'horrifying', or, occasionally, 'encouraging'. Yet, for all their ubiquity, most of us really don't know what to make of statistics. Exploring the history, mathematics, philosophy and practical use of statistics, Eileen Magnello - accompanied by Bill Mayblin's intelligent graphic illustration - traces the rise of statistics from the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Chinese, to the censuses of Romans and the Greeks, and the modern emergence of the term itself in Europe. She explores the 'vital statistics' of, in particular, William Farr, and the mathematical statistics of Karl Pearson and R.A. Fisher.She even tells how knowledge of statistics can prolong one's life, as it did for evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, given eight months to live after a cancer diagnoses in 1982 - and he lived until 2002. This title offers an enjoyable, surprise-filled tour through a subject that is both fascinating and crucial to understanding our world.

A Graphic Guide

Introducing Statistics

Oscar Zarate

J.P. McEvoy

Cathia Jenainati

Nigel Benson

Ziauddin Sardar

Sharron Shatil

Dan Cryan

Introducing Graphic Guides is the bestselling series which explores big ideas from Quantum Theory to Psychoanalysis using concise, authoritative text and graphic novel-style illustrations. For the very first time 28 titles are now available in ebook format for all e-reading devices. This free ebook sampler contains extracts from six books: • Introducing Psychology asks what exactly psychology is, precisely, where has it come from and the extent to which it can be considered scientific. • Introducing Quantum Theory explores bizarre paradoxes which contradict the logic of classical physics in the work of Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger and others • Introducing Islam recounts the history of the religion from the 6th century to its status as a global culture and political force today. • Introducing Statistics book traces the rise of statistics from the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Chinese, to the censuses of Romans and the Greeks, and the modern emergence of the term itself in Europe. • Introducing Capitalism tells the story of the remarkable and often ruthless rise of capitalist politics and economics, which have evolved through strife and struggle as much as innovation and enterprise • Introducing Feminism explores women's conscious struggle to resist discrimination and sexist oppression from the 17th century to the present day. Find out more about the series at introducingbooks.com/ebooks

FREE Introducing Graphic Guide Sampler

Eileen Magnello

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