Statistics Hacks

Description

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

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.

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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Basics
1. Know the Big Secret
2. Describe the World Using Just Two Numbers
3. Figure the Odds
4. Reject the Null
5. Go Big to Get Small
6. Measure Precisely
7. Measure Up
8. Power Up
9. Show Cause and Effect
10. Know Big When You See It
Chapter 2 Discovering Relationships
1. Discover Relationships
2. Graph Relationships
3. Use One Variable to Predict Another
4. Use More Than One Variable to Predict Another
5. Identify Unexpected Outcomes
6. Identify Unexpected Relationships
7. Compare Two Groups
8. Find Out Just How Wrong You Really Are
9. Sample Fairly
10. Sample with a Touch of Scotch
11. Choose the Honest Average
12. Avoid the Axis of Evil
Chapter 3 Measuring the World
1. See the Shape of Everything
2. Produce Percentiles
3. Predict the Future with the Normal Curve
4. Give Raw Scores a Makeover
5. Standardize Scores
6. Ask the Right Questions
7. Test Fairly
8. Improve Your Test Score While Watching Paint Dry
9. Establish Reliability
10. Establish Validity
11. Predict the Length of a Lifetime
12. Make Wise Medical Decisions
Chapter 4 Beating the Odds
1. Gamble Smart
2. Know When to Hold 'Em
3. Know When to Fold 'Em
4. Know When to Walk Away
5. Lose Slowly at Roulette
6. Play in the Black in Blackjack
7. Play Smart When You Play the Lottery
8. Play with Cards and Get Lucky
9. Play with Dice and Get Lucky
10. Sharpen Your Card-Sharping
11. Amaze Your 23 Closest Friends
12. Design Your Own Bar Bet
13. Go Crazy with Wild Cards
14. Never Trust an Honest Coin
15. Know Your Limit
Chapter 5 Playing Games
1. Avoid the Zonk
2. Pass Go, Collect $200, Win the Game
3. Use Random Selection as Artificial Intelligence
4. Do Card Tricks Through the Mail
5. Check Your iPod's Honesty
6. Predict the Game Winners
7. Predict the Outcome of a Baseball Game
8. Plot Histograms in Excel
9. Go for Two
10. Rank with the Best of Them
11. Estimate Pi by Chance
Chapter 6 Thinking Smart
1. Outsmart Superman
2. Demystify Amazing Coincidences
3. Sense the Real Randomness of Life
4. Spot Faked Data
5. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
6. Play a Tune on Pascal's Triangle
7. Control Random Thoughts
8. Search for ESP
9. Cure Conjunctionitus
10. Break Codes with Etaoin Shrdlu
11. Discover a New Species
12. Feel Connected
13. Learn to Ride a Votercycle
14. Live Life in the Fast Lane (You're Already In)
15. Seek Out New Life and New Civilizations

Colophon

Product Details

Title:

Statistics Hacks

By:

Bruce Frey

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print Release:

May 2006

Ebook Release:

July 2008

Pages:

360

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-10164-0

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10164-3

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-15312-0

| ISBN 10:

0-596-15312-0

Customer Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Frey

Bruce Frey, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology and research in education at the University of Kansas. Previous books include "Online Auctions! I Didn't Know You Could Do That " published by Sybex and, with Neil Salkind, "eBay Online Auctions: Effective Buying and Selling with eBay" published by Muska & Lipman. He is an award-winning teacher of statistics, research design, and measurement. Bruce enjoys movies and collecting comic books, especially those early 1960s DCs with the cool checkered flag pattern. (Note to his tenure committee: In the research field of education, he is also an author of fifty scholarly publications and papers.)

View Bruce Frey's full profile page.

Colophon

The tool appearing on the cover of Statistics Hacks is a Chinese abacus, or suanpan. Centuries before the emergence of the written Hindu-Arabic numeral system, the abacus, often constructed of a wooden frame with beads sliding on wires, was used as a calculation tool. Historians place its invention between 2,400 and 300 BC. At that time, when most people could not read or write, it might have seemed ridiculous to scribble symbols on expensive papyrus when such an excellent calculating device was available. The suanpan differs from the European abacus in that its board is split into two parts. The lower part holds five counters on each wire; the upper section holds two. Complex suanpan techniques accomplish not only simple addition, but also multiplication, division, subtraction, and square and cube root operations efficiently.

The cover image is a stock photograph from CMCD Everyday Objects. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed.

O'Reilly Books & Videos

Tips & Tools for Measuring the World and Beating the Odds

Chapter 1 The Basics

Know the Big Secret

Describe the World Using Just Two Numbers

Figure the Odds

Reject the Null

Go Big to Get Small

Measure Precisely

Measure Up

Power Up

Show Cause and Effect

Know Big When You See It

Chapter 2 Discovering Relationships

Discover Relationships

Graph Relationships

Use One Variable to Predict Another

Use More Than One Variable to Predict Another

Identify Unexpected Outcomes

Identify Unexpected Relationships

Compare Two Groups

Find Out Just How Wrong You Really Are

Sample Fairly

Sample with a Touch of Scotch

Choose the Honest Average

Avoid the Axis of Evil

Chapter 3 Measuring the World

See the Shape of Everything

Produce Percentiles

Predict the Future with the Normal Curve

Give Raw Scores a Makeover

Standardize Scores

Ask the Right Questions

Test Fairly

Improve Your Test Score While Watching Paint Dry

Establish Reliability

Establish Validity

Predict the Length of a Lifetime

Make Wise Medical Decisions

Chapter 4 Beating the Odds

Gamble Smart

Know When to Hold 'Em

Know When to Fold 'Em

Know When to Walk Away

Lose Slowly at Roulette

Play in the Black in Blackjack

Play Smart When You Play the Lottery

Play with Cards and Get Lucky

Play with Dice and Get Lucky

Sharpen Your Card-Sharping

Amaze Your 23 Closest Friends

Design Your Own Bar Bet

Go Crazy with Wild Cards

Never Trust an Honest Coin

Know Your Limit

Chapter 5 Playing Games

Avoid the Zonk

Pass Go, Collect $200, Win the Game

Use Random Selection as Artificial Intelligence

Do Card Tricks Through the Mail

Check Your iPod's Honesty

Predict the Game Winners

Predict the Outcome of a Baseball Game

Plot Histograms in Excel

Go for Two

Rank with the Best of Them

Estimate Pi by Chance

Chapter 6 Thinking Smart

Outsmart Superman

Demystify Amazing Coincidences

Sense the Real Randomness of Life

Spot Faked Data

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

Play a Tune on Pascal's Triangle

Control Random Thoughts

Search for ESP

Cure Conjunctionitus

Break Codes with Etaoin Shrdlu

Discover a New Species