How to not be fooled by statistics in everyday life
Fra Hanne Høy Kejser
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Fra Hanne Høy Kejser
This lecture covers the common ways in which statistics are used to mislead and deceive in everyday life.
Once familiar with these techniques, your inner cynic will immediately activate as soon as you hear or read a claim based on statistics. You'll learn the sneaky statistical tricks that companies, politicians, journalists, and scientists use (yes, scientists are sneaky as well) to mislead – or downright deceive – their audience.
By seeing how these tricks are used, you'll be less susceptible to 'fake news' and more critical of the onslaught of information we face in our daily lives. You'll be a statistical cynic!
We'll cover a buffet of different statistical traps, such as
- correlations disguised as causality,
- creatively selected samples,
- and devious graphs.
To frame our discussion, we'll cover examples from politics, gambling, public health, and advertising, among others.
No mathematical knowledge is needed – just a willingness to believe that statistics is not dull.