I’ve read many books about mathematical subjects in search
for new ideas and new ways to explain concepts to my students. Writing an easy-to-read
book about math is not easy and writing an easy-to-read book about statistics
is much more difficult, but David Spiegelhalter of the University of Cambridge
succeeded in this task. While most mathematical topics deal with proofs that
provide absolute facts, statistics is more difficult because it deals with uncertainty
and error.
Spiegelhalter’s walks the reader through different types of
data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, correlation, hypothesis
testing and the use of Bayesian statistics without getting bogged down with
equations. Instead, he focuses on using real-life case studies and just enough
graphics to help the reader understand the concepts.
I particularly liked his
suggestion in teaching probability and statistics, to postpone the challenging
section of probability to later in the course rather than at the beginning. I
also liked his liking of using the Bayesian way of estimating probabilities
(see prior post: Math
Vacation: Thomas Bayes - an Attempt to Prove the Existence of God
(jamesmacmath.blogspot.com)).
Book website: The
Art of Statistics by David Spiegelhalter | Basic Books
Meet David Spiegelhalter on YouTube: (1352) The Art of Statistics
with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter - YouTube
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