Deborah Rumsey - Statistics for Dummies

A. Are you "Very Dumb"? B. Are you "Dumb"? C. Are you "Somewhat Dumb"? D. Are you "Not Dumb"? E. Are you "Off Body"? (Is your head completely removed from your body?)

The above is an example of a poll or survey question that Wiley Publishing, the publishers of this book, might ask you. Since they publish books for dummies, they need to know how many dummies there are. You may participate in this survey by leaving your response in the comment box. .

About The Book and the Author

How did I get so interested in polls and surveys? Well, we, the people of America, are constantly being inundated with statistical data. We want to be as well-informed as we can be, but are we really getting the truth? If we are, can the truth itself be deceptive? These are questions I needed to answer for myself. That is one of the reasons I read Statistics for Dummies. The other reason is...I'm a dummy. I admit it, OK? Don't rub it in!

The author, Allen L. Webster, earned his PhD. in statistics from Ohio State University (Let's do another poll. Did you attend Ohio State U?). Within the 355 pages of this book, he does an excellent job showing and explaining the inside dope (pardon the pun) re: statistical data and surveys.

This black and yellow paperback book contains an index for easy reference, and has blank note pages in the back for your drawings, paper airplanes and the occasional notes you might write.
It has eight parts and 21 chapters covering the following: statistics in every day life, number crunching basics, determining odds, wading through results, confidence levels, hypothesis tests, the inside scoop re: statistical studies, ten criteria for a good survey, and ten common mistakes.

My Thoughts, My Impressions, What I Learned and My Experience

Like most "Dummies" books, this one was easy to read and understand. However, it does throw some calculus at you. To understand the math in this book, you need to read "Calculus For Dummies." To understand "Calculus For Dummies," you need to read "Algebra For Dummies." To understand "Algebra For Dummies," you need to read "Arithmetic For Dummies." To understand "Arithmetic for Dummies," you need to learn how to read--I recommend "'Run Spot Run' For Dummies."

Seriously, even if you are not a math nerd, you still can learn a lot from this book.

One important trick this book has taught me is how to calculate odds (here's where the math background comes in handy). I love to play the lottery, don't you? I never win though-not even the $5 prize!

So I came up with a sure-fire plan to win: buy all of the lottery tickets.

At first glance, it seems like a brilliant plan. The problem is the cost of all those tickets is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 billion dollars-and the jackpot is a measly eight figures. If you like to play the disappearing dollar trick, the best odds are at the crap table at any casino. That's right. You are more likely to become a millionaire playing craps then playing any of the State lotteries.

When I read this book, I was amazed at all the different ways statistical results can be manipulated. For example, statistical graphs can be stretched vertically to make small differences in the data look large. These same graphs can be compressed to make large differences in the data look small.

Pretty slick, eh?

Statistical data can also be manipulated numerically. Let me give you a real-life example: I read somewhere on the Internet that Nevada was the fastest growing state in the country. At first glance that seemed logical. After all, Nevada has legalized gambling and prostitution. So why wouldn't people be moving there in droves? It seemed perfectly logical that Nevada would be number one on the population growth list. Additionally, Las Vegas has one of the highest crime rates in the country. Yep, Nevada is a happening place!

On closer examination, I discovered that approximately 60,000 people moved to Nevada in 2005. Approximately 500,000 people moved to California in 2005.

What the....?

It turned out that Nevada had a small population of only around a million people-so its population increased around 6%. California had a population of around 30,000,000 people-so its population only increased 1.7%. Heck, if you and your family moved to Wyoming this year, Wyoming would become the fastest growing state due to its sparse population.

Do you see what this book has done for me? It has made this dummy smarter. I learned that it is important to examine how a survey or poll was conducted. I no longer just take in and digest what I see and hear on the news, or read in books and magazines. This book has taught me to ask the hard questions like "What is the margin of error in the latest presidential election poll?"

Believe it or not; if your presidential candidate is ahead of another candidate by five points in a given poll, he/she could still lose the election. How, you ask? Here is one theory:

Bush: Hey Dick, I have an idea. Let's fix the election results.
Cheney: That's a great idea, G. W. I guess that's why they pay you the big bucks.
Bush: Let's do it then. Boohahahahahaha!
Cheney: Yeah, baby! Boohahahahahahahaha!
Bush and Cheney: Boohahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Or, perhaps the margin of error of the poll was high. If the margin of error was, say, 10%, then your candidate could be as much as 15% ahead (5% + 10% = 15%) or as much as 5% behind (5% - 10% = -5%) the other candidate.

The foregoing are just a few examples of what I have gotten out of this book. This book goes into a lot more detail than I have given here. For this review, I just wanted to give you a taste of what you can expect when you read this exceptional book.

Don't let the title fool you. This book is not really for dummies. It is for intelligent people like you who want to be informed and aware of what is really going on in the world. This book just happens to do the job in plain English. That's what I like most about it.

Give this book a try and I guarantee you'll rate it five stars, too.