Statistics in Everyday Language
Quantitative claims and vague quantity terms in everyday speech.
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Foundations
Language, claims and statistical thinking
Long before a table or chart is created, concepts, selection and wording already shape the result.
Half-Truths
How true individual statements can mislead when essential context is missing.
Read article →Causes of Statistical Errors
Common methodological and argumentative sources of error.
Read article →When Statistics Mislead: Bias & Manipulation
From unconscious bias and sponsorship to publication bias, cherry-picking and deliberate manipulation.
Read the deeper article →Perception & Decision
When intuition and probability diverge
Observation, memory and decision-making are not as neutral as they may appear.
The Magic of Large Numbers
How €200 can look petty while the same proportional saving, enlarged to €2 million, is mistaken for brilliant management.
Read article →When Is the Majority Wiser Than the Experts?
How individual accuracy, group size and independent errors determine the quality of a majority decision.
Read article →Eyewitness Statements and Interpretations
Why observation and interpretation can point in different directions.
Read article →An Epidemic with 600 Deaths
How framing changes decisions even when the probabilities are identical.
Read article →The Monty Hall Problem
The classic three-door problem and the logic of switching.
Read article →Presentation & Society
Numbers in political and economic context
Definitions, scales and denominators often determine which story the data appear to tell.
Misleading Charts
How scaling and selection turn correct numbers into a misleading message.
Read article →Unemployment Statistics
Definitions, measurement rules and political interpretation of unemployment figures.
Read article →Is Germany a High-Tax Country?
How the choice and presentation of indicators shape political claims.
Read article →Paradoxes of Proportional Representation
Rounding procedures and surprising effects in seat allocation.
Read article →Population Growth in China
How axis scaling can make the same dataset look dramatic or restrained.
Read article →Chance, Luck and Making Your Own Fortune
Achievement, opportunity and the social interpretation of success.
Read article →Lies with Statistics: The Churchill Quote
A small exercise in source criticism around a famous attribution.
Read article →Historical context: Some examples refer to the period in which they were originally published. They are retained because the underlying questions about measurement, presentation and interpretation remain relevant.
With a wink
Statistics and mathematical humour
The Balloonist
A classic mathematician joke about the difference between being correct and being helpful.
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