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Michael Blastland
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The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers Paperback – 23 Aug. 2007

by Andrew Dilnot (Author), Michael Blastland (Author)
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The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers
The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers
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Numbers have become the all-powerful language of public argument. Too often, that power is abused and the numbers bamboozle. This book shows how to see straight through them - and how to seize the power for yourself. Public spending, health risks, environmental disasters, who is rich, who is poor, Aids or war deaths, pensions, teenage offenders, the best and worst schools and hospitals, immigration - life comes in numbers. The trick to seeing through them is strikingly simple. It is to apply something everyone has - the lessons of their own experience. Using vivid and everyday images and ideas, this book shows how close to hand insight and understanding can be, and how we can all use what is familiar to make sense of what is baffling. It is also a revelation - of how little the principles are understood even by many who claim to know better. This book is written by the team who created and present the hugely popular BBC Radio 4 series, More or Less.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Profile Books
  4. Publication date
    23 Aug. 2007
  5. Dimensions
    14 x 1.5 x 21.6 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1861978391
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1861978394
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

If every politician and journalist were required to read this engaging and eye-opening book before embarking on their career, we would live in a wiser, better-governed world. -- Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive ― Royal Society of Arts

How to use the knowledge we already possess to understand numbers and make sense of the world around us. -- Mervyn King ― Governor of the Bank of England

Statistics usually send people to sleep. This will wake them up again...' ― Rory Bremner

In this witty and fascinating book he explains to us laymen how to make sense of numbers and how we can avoid having the wool pulled over our eyes. Invaluable. ― David Dimbleby

This delightful book should be compulsory reading for everyone responsible for presenting data and for everyone who consumes it. ― Sunday Telegraph

About the Author

Andrew Dilnot is Warden of Nuffield College, University of Oxford and former director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Michael Blastland was born in Glasgow. A journalist all his professional life, he started on weekly newspapers before moving to the BBC where he makes current affairs programmes for Radio 4, such as Analysis, More or Less and the historical series Why Did We Do That? He lives in Hertfordshire, often with his daughter Cait, less often and less quietly with his son Joe, when he's at home.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Profile Books; Main edition (23 Aug. 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1861978391
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1861978394
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14 x 1.5 x 21.6 cm
  • Customer reviews:

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Michael Blastland

Michael Blastland

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
193 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the humor in the book great, funny, and relevant to everyone's life. They also describe the book as easy to read, digest, and quotable.

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HumorReadability
22 customers mention ‘Humor’22 positive0 negative

Customers find the humor in the book entertaining, enjoyable, and relevant. They also say it's a great read with good relevant stories.

"A very clear and entertaining review of the way statistics and numbers are used in the media...." Read more

"A good summer read.Good quotes to use with bosses and colleagues that get too creative with interpreting data :)..." Read more

"...It's entertaining as well - what more could you want?" Read more

"This book is an excellent, clearly written, highly amusing and approachable book that cuts through all the wooly thinking and misunderstanding of..." Read more

9 customers mention ‘Readability’9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and digest, with great examples. They also say it's enjoyable, quotable, and repetitive.

"...Lots of fascinating insights, presented in a highly readable format. Explains very well concepts like:..." Read more

"A good summer read.Good quotes to use with bosses and colleagues that get too creative with interpreting data :)..." Read more

"...It is ideal as a text for a short course on the misrepresentation of data and I am going to make it recommended reading for future years." Read more

"A very accessible book that puts numbers into the context that we are so rarely given by the media and public figures...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

alice
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2014
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A very clear and entertaining review of the way statistics and numbers are used in the media. Lots of fascinating insights, presented in a highly readable format. Explains very well concepts like:

- natural variation - how quite surprising coincidences can happen by chance
- the dangers of using an average to imply 'normal' (e.g. most people earn less than the average salary - and households with two people on the average salary are pretty rare)
- the perils of using a single number to represent a complex subject

Highly recommended!
One person found this helpful
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TheBigMtt
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, quotable, a little repetitive
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 July 2023
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A good summer read.
Good quotes to use with bosses and colleagues that get too creative with interpreting data :)
A little repetitive at times but overall good
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Andrew Dalby
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended reading for anyone interested in statistical abuse
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2013
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The authors have presented a BBC radio program on statistics and one of the authors was also a regular contributor to the BBC website with articles on the abuse and misuse of statistics. Here they present an equation free view of how statistics can be misused by both politicians and those who should know better, scientists.

Some of the reviews have said that the book is too simple. It is true that it does not contain any formulae but that is a good thing. Formulae are not everything in Maths and Statistics. Sometimes the deeper insights are in the words, because the formulae are only a way of trying to make the words unambiguous and more rigorous. The explanations of the limits of averages is particularly important and revealing. Especially when the policy makers are further exposed in later chapters as having no idea about who pays the most tax and how much is the median wage. Making sense of the way statistics is presented and getting a deep view of how they fit into the real world is essential. I hate maths texts that have endless theorems and proofs for idealised equations that bear no relationship to reality. This is a book firmly based in the real world.

I think it it perhaps the best book I have read about the abuse of statistics and number in general. It is ideal as a text for a short course on the misrepresentation of data and I am going to make it recommended reading for future years.
4 people found this helpful
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Nic in Greenwich
5.0 out of 5 stars Ask yourself: is this is really a big or surprising number?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2016
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A very accessible book that puts numbers into the context that we are so rarely given by the media and public figures. You sense they are being selective, and comparing apples with cornflakes, but you can't quite figure out how. This helps you do that, to see through the veils, to figure out what is really significant, and what is just made to sound good (or bad). It's entertaining as well - what more could you want?
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lucy
5.0 out of 5 stars should be compulsory reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2013
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This book is an excellent, clearly written, highly amusing and approachable book that cuts through all the wooly thinking and misunderstanding of the nature of scientific proof. It is amazing how much misinformation there is in the media and elsewhere - probably mostly due to ignorance. If everyone read this book then so many health, education and other baseless scandles could be avoided - as this book is so well written there is no excuse not to be amoung the well informed !
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R. WOOD
3.0 out of 5 stars Good for statistics beginners
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 March 2008
This book gives a gentle introduction into the statistical background to many newsworthy topics such as speed cameras, league tables and drug testing. There are no equations and the book can be read in a couple of hours. To those who are already familiar with concepts such as regression to the mean, skewed distributions and relative risks then the content may be too lightweight. I enjoyed the book but those looking for something more substantial should try "The Lady Tasting Tea . . ." by David Salsburg. You can find out more about the topics in the book by listening to the archive of BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme (the author is the creator of that radio series). The book is certainly aimed at the UK reader.
6 people found this helpful
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Jim J-R
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent exploration of how badly statistics can be misinterpreted
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2011
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An excellent exploration of how badly statistics can be misinterpreted and misreported, both by those with their own agenda and those who are tasked with communicating the truth to the public - much like the authors, two BBC journalists. The book splits the problems faced in reporting numbers into one issue per chapter and demonstrates with plenty of examples how badly results can be reported.

It's a really good book that I would certainly recommend to anyone who has to use statistics, whether reporting them to the public or just internally within an organisation, and especially managers and politicians who need to base their decisions on these reports. Even in my own recent experience at work there have been people I've wanted to hit over the head with this book.

One thing that must be noted is that the book needs to be read in small chunks - a chapter at a time. It's not something to read in one or two sittings, and it's a book that probably needs to be returned to a few times for the messages to sink in. I'll be keeping it handy at work for when I'm faced with numbers, and plan to offer it around my colleagues too.
2 people found this helpful
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Mr. D. C. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars See the path through the wood....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2014
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A brilliant book that helps lay people with no great maths ability to interpret numerical or statistical data as given by newspaper headlines. It suggests questions that you can ask that will help clear a path through the dense world of false information in order to form a sensible opinion. I do believe that you will help the democratic process and make better decisions if you go through this very easy to read book which will entertain, as well as inform you.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The book came in great condition and the sender even included a cute little ...
Reviewed in the United States on 24 September 2016
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The book came in great condition and the sender even included a cute little bookmark that you can color yourself, which was very convenient. It did take a little time to get here, but I live in Indiana, and it shipped from the UK, so no wonder! Great quality for a great price, not to mention the book itself is fantastic and very enjoyable.
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Dr. Sven Jungmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Demystifiziert die Welt der Zahlen. Sehr nützlich.
Reviewed in Germany on 27 December 2013
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Wir sind jeden Tag von Zahlen und Nummern umgeben, und wissen oft nicht wirklich was sie bedeuten. Was heisst es, wenn wir in den Nachrichten lesen, dass der Bund 10,2 Milliarden Euro in die Infrastruktur investiert? Die Summe klingt groß, aber ist das viel oder wenig?

Das Buch ist für Konsumenten geschrieben, die Zahlen oft als schwer greifbar empfinden und ihnen misstrauisch gegenüber stehen. Daher der Titel: Zahlen wirken wie ein Tiger auf uns, exotisch und gefährlich (z.B. manipulierend) zugleich. Doch in Wirklichkeit sind sie weder das eine noch das andere, sondern nützliche Informationen für diejenigen, die verstehen, mit ihnen um zu gehen.

Ich habe als Arzt und Public Health Master bereits viel mit Zahlen und Quotienten zu tun gehabt, sie selbst errechnet und interpretiert. Dieses Buch hat selbst mir weiter geholfen, besser darüber im Klaren zu sein, was ich eigentlich tue wenn ich versuche Sinn in Zahlen zu finden. "Zählen heisst definieren" sagen die Autoren – eine Tatsache, der ich mir nie vollständig bewusst war.

Das Buch ist knapp gehalten und bringt griffige Beispiele, die die Zahlen die unsere Welt beschreiben demystifizieren.

Und es erklärt, warum sechs größer sein kann als eine Milliarde.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read
Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2016
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Such a well-written, easy-to-read book. Full of interesting real-world examples. A must for anyone even slightly interested in current affairs, media reporting tactics or statistics. You'll never take news at face value again!
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Girinsky
5.0 out of 5 stars magnifique leçon de bon sens
Reviewed in France on 16 February 2009
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livre indispensable à lire pour ceux qui veulent mettre un peu de bon sens dans leur vie et les statistiques !!
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RG
5.0 out of 5 stars Bestellung
Reviewed in Germany on 20 September 2018
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Ist gut angekommen, alles ohne Probleme.
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