Number Bias: How numbers dominate our world and why that's a problem we need to fix

The Number Bias is a book that warns about the way numbers can lead us astray, and how we should put them in their place beside words. It explores our relationship with numbers and demystifies our misguided allegiance, from Florence Nightingale using statistics to petition for better conditions during the Crimean War to the manipulation of numbers by the American tobacco industry and the ambiguous figures peddled during the EU referendum.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 08 July 2021
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

The Number Bias is a powerful book that combines vivid storytelling with authoritative analysis to deliver a warning about the way numbers can lead us astray if we let them. Tim Harford argues that even if we don't consider ourselves numbers people, we are all numbers people, and it is time to put numbers in their place beside words. Numbers dictate the way we live our lives, telling us how we are doing at school, how much we weigh, who might win an election, and whether the economy is booming. However, numbers are not as objective as they may seem; behind every number is a story.

Sanne Blauw travels the world to unpick our relationship with numbers and demystify our misguided allegiance, from Florence Nightingale using statistics to petition for better conditions during the Crimean War to the manipulation of numbers by the American tobacco industry and the ambiguous figures peddled during the EU referendum. The Number Bias counsels us to think more wisely, taking us from the everyday numbers that govern our health and wellbeing to the statistics used to wield enormous power and influence.

A beautifully accessible exploration of how numbers shape our lives, and the importance of accurately interpreting the statistics we are fed. Angela Saini, author of Superior, praises The Number Bias as a "must-read for anyone who wants to understand the world around them better."

Weight: 140g
Dimension: 197 x 130 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529342772