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Darrell Huff

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Darrell Huff was an American author who wrote about a somewhat diverse range of subjects. Most notably, he wrote a book called How to Lie with Statistics, which remains one of the best-selling statistics books of all time. It examines ways in which people, media organizations, and other entities use really bad statistical logic to present falsehoods to people, taking advantage of how most people don't have a strong foundation in statistical logic. As such, it happens to be a good resource for providing the layman with statistical logic skills so they won't be fooled and also aids enrichment of critical thinking.[1][2]

Unfortunately, Huff was also a denier of the harmful effects of tobacco, going so far as to give (we imagine false) testimony to Congress on more than one occasion. It goes without saying, he was paid good money to do this.[3]

References

  1. "Darrell Huff and Fifty Years of How to Lie with Statistics", J. Michael Steele, Statistical Science. 2005, Vol. 20, No. 3, 205–209. DOI 10.1214/088342305000000205. Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2005.
  2. 11 Ways To Lie With Statistics, Business Insider, Jul. 28, 2011
  3. Statistics for Cigarette Sellers, Andrew Gelman, Ethics and Statistics, VOL. 25.3, 2012