Statistical Literacy – the Golden Rules A Review of Tim Harford’s The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

Abstract

As statistics educators, our overarching goal is to instill in our students an appreciation for the stories that can be told from data. Storytelling, however, is never straightforward. Surely, we can remember times where we have been in the thrall of an experienced raconteur with a penchant to up-sell narratives with a healthy sprinkling of imagination and exaggeration in order to pique the interest of their readers or listeners. Given we are living in a “post-truth” world, where “alternative facts” and “fake news” permeate the airwaves, equipping students with the skills to distinguish fact from fiction is more important than ever (Ridgway, Nicholson, & Stern, 2017).