Solving the the case of the 6cm man with assertive programming

Liam Thorp, political editor of the Liverpool Echo, was recently surprised to receive an invite to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Whilst the UK does seem to be numerically ahead in absolute terms of many (but not all) other countries when it comes to at putting first-doses into people, we're still at the stage where only … Continue reading Solving the the case of the 6cm man with assertive programming →

The Sun and its dangerous misuse of statistics

Here's the (pretty abhorrent) front cover of yesterday's Sun newspaper. Bearing in mind that several recent terrorist atrocities are top of everyone's mind at the moment, it's clear what the Sun is implying here. The text on the front page is even more overt: Nearly one in five British Muslims have some sympathy with those who have fled … Continue reading The Sun and its dangerous misuse of statistics →

The persuasiveness of dataviz

The intrinsic power of the the chart is highlighted nicely in a recent Harvard Business Review post. In an experiment (*), Aner Tal et al. had a couple of groups read about a new medication that supposedly reduced the incidence of illness by 40%. This was clearly stated in the text the readers were given. … Continue reading The persuasiveness of dataviz →

More data is not always better data

Like a lot of data-fans, I have something of a tendency to "collect" data just in case it will become useful one day. Vendors are feeding that addiction with constant talk of swimming through blissful "data lakes" and related tools, notably Hadoop and its brethren. Furthermore, as the production of data grows exponentially, the cost … Continue reading More data is not always better data →

Lib Dem leaflet chart fail

Coming up to the election, there's no shortage of misleading statistics, charts and downright quantitative lies being flung around. One even made it through our letterbox today. It's far from the worst available online, but such statistical slights always feel more personal when they get physically pushed into one's abode. Here goes the Liberal Democrats, being honest enough to admit that their … Continue reading Lib Dem leaflet chart fail →