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By Bruce Frey
First Edition
May 2006
Pages: 356
Series: Hacks
ISBN 10: 0-596-10164-3 |
ISBN 13: 9780596101640
Want to calculate the probability that an event will happen? Be able to spot fake data? Prove beyond doubt whether one thing causes another? Or learn to be a better gambler? You can do that and much more with 75 practical and fun hacks packed into Statistics Hacks. These cool tips, tricks, and mind-boggling solutions from the world of statistics, measurement, and research methods will not only amaze and entertain you, but will give you an advantage in several real-world situations-including business.
Full Description
This book is ideal for anyone who likes puzzles, brainteasers, games, gambling, magic tricks, and those who want to apply math and science to everyday circumstances. Several hacks in the first chapter alone-such as the "central limit theorem,", which allows you to know everything by knowing just a little-serve as sound approaches for marketing and other business objectives. Using the tools of inferential statistics, you can understand the way probability works, discover relationships, predict events with uncanny accuracy, and even make a little money with a well-placed wager here and there.
Statistics Hacks presents useful techniques from statistics, educational and psychological measurement, and experimental research to help you solve a variety of problems in business, games, and life. You'll learn how to:
- Play smart when you play Texas Hold 'Em, blackjack, roulette, dice games, or even the lottery
- Design your own winnable bar bets to make money and amaze your friends
- Predict the outcomes of baseball games, know when to "go for two" in football, and anticipate the winners of other sporting events with surprising accuracy
- Demystify amazing coincidences and distinguish the truly random from the only seemingly random--even keep your iPod's "random" shuffle honest
- Spot fraudulent data, detect plagiarism, and break codes
- How to isolate the effects of observation on the thing observed
Whether you're a statistics enthusiast who does calculations in your sleep or a civilian who is entertained by clever solutions to interesting problems, Statistics Hacks has tools to give you an edge over the world's slim odds.
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Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Sample Hacks | Colophon
Book details
First Edition: May 2006
Series:
Hacks
ISBN: 0-596-10164-3
Pages: 356
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Media reviews
"Most of the O'Reilly books in the Hacks Series are about computer programs and systems. But there are others like
-- End Note, Strategic Finance
"This book of 75 statistics hacks brings to life many of the fascinating and useful ways that statistics can be used in everyday situations. The hacks are not only practical but some are actually fun. Readers will find that their knowledge of probability and event prediction will likely be enhanced."
-- Michael Kleper, The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing
"If you're looking for an easy read, forget it, but if you're prepared to settle down for a cosy Sunday afternoon, make notes, and let your mind wonder into potential mental magic applications and more, this is for you. The 'Hacks' series of books is a goldmine of clever stuff, and this is no exception. "
-- Tomo, TalkMagic.com
"Statistics Hacks is not an easy book to read. As I mentioned, if you've got an aversion to math you might want to skip this one. But statistics aren't that hard to understand, and there is a lot of valuable (and potentially profitable) information in this book. Frey set out to make the concepts behind statistical analysis accessible to the average reader, and for the most part I think he has succeeded. I'll let you know more after I win the lottery (Hack #41)."
-- Warren Kelly, BlogCritics.org
"After reading the book (and doing more than that, I played with the ideas in it quite a bit), I can say that somehow Mr. Frey took some very drab material (at least as I was taught it!) and made it interesting through practical applications...I'd say that this is a practical book for anyone from statistics students to would-be gamblers to people who mentally do their shopping lists while charts are brought out at meetings. This is a great book, and it gets a KnowProSE 9 out of 10. At less than $20, the odds are good you'll find this book at the least entertaining - and if you read it, the world just might make more sense."
-- Taran Rampersad, KnowProSE.com
"Frey’s Statistics Hacks is no substitute for the calculus of probability and Fisher’s Foundation of Statistics, but very few users of statistical techniques get to the point of reading Fisher. I won’t say Frey is the next best thing, but it’s pretty good. Recommended."
-- Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor In Perspective
"Bruce Frey teaches statistics at the University of Kansas and doesn't play the lottery. Why not? "I don't play the lottery because, as a statistician, I know that playing only slightly increases my chances of winning." His book Stastics Hacks is full of such nuggets. It's wonderful. Without O'Reilly, the world would be a far less fun place."
-- Fergus, Two Newtons
"This is a really fun book to read and is based on solid statistical methodologies. This book is an absolute must if you need to understand the basics of statistical techniques, methologies, and theory. If more students used this book as their introductory statistics text, we’d likely have a lot more statisticians."
-- Mike George, Amazon.com
"Very few things create the visualization of dozens of students sleeping in class like mentioning the subject of statistics. But, statistics can be interesting, fun, and useful as Bruce Frey demonstrates in this very approachable introduction to the subject. "
-- Harold McFarland, The Midwest Book Review
