There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.
—Leonard H. Courtney
Introduction
That quote is often attributed to Mark Twain, but no matter who said it first, there is a simple truth there. How do statistics lie to us? They are just numbers after all—right? Well, there may be a bit more to it. Some of our mis-interpretation is human nature and the way we process numbers (you may recall numbers myopia from Chapter 4); other challenges are simply a function of being overwhelmed by the numbers. In this chapter, the objective is not to try to turn you into a statistician. Remember, you can outsource the stats. Rather, you should be able to:
• Recognize the limitations of statistical models ...
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