An essential guide to recognizing bogus numbers and misleading data
Numbers are often intimidating, confusing, and even deliberately
deceptive—especially when they are really big. The media loves to
report on millions, billions, and trillions, but frequently makes
basic mistakes or presents such numbers in misleading ways. And
misunderstanding numbers can have serious consequences, since they can
deceive us in many of our most important decisions, including how to
vote, what to buy, and whether to make a financial investment. In this
short, accessible, enlightening, and entertaining book, leading
computer scientist Brian Kernighan teaches anyone—even diehard
math-phobes—how to demystify the numbers that assault us every day.
With examples drawn from a rich variety of sources, including
journalism, advertising, and politics, Kernighan demonstrates how
numbers can mislead and misrepresent. In chapters covering big
numbers, units, dimensions, and more, he lays bare everything from
deceptive graphs to speciously precise numbers. And he shows how
anyone—using a few basic ideas and lots of shortcuts—can easily
learn to recognize common mistakes, determine whether numbers are
credible, and make their own sensible estimates when needed. Giving
you the simple tools you need to avoid being fooled by dubious
numbers, Millions, Billions, Zillions is an essential survival guide
for a world drowning in big—and often bad—data.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780691190136
Publisert
2018
Utgiver
Vendor
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter