The Cartoon Guide to Statistics

I'm in love with this book and I feel like it was written with me in mind, so if your math background and goals are anything like mine, I can't recommend it enough. So, here's my deal: I'm a med student and am about to start a bio statistics course. I wanted to brush up on stat ahead of time over spring break, but I knew I'd never bring myself to read a serious stat book on the beach (especially having ADD). I've never taken a stat course, but my math education got as far as calculus many years ago, and I teach SAT math so I'm not too rusty on algebra. I'm also a general-purpose science nerd and feel pretty comfortable with the fundamentals of probability. Most of the chapters started out reviewing things I already knew - for example, one of the first chapters goes over the definitions of mean and median and how to calculate them - none of which was news to me. (Ironically, even though the author probably ought to include such basic concepts for the sake of completeness, anyone who doesn't already understand how to calculate an average is probably going to find this book too advanced). But the chapter then went on to explain how to calculate standard deviations and other more advanced concepts I'd long since forgotten at a pretty ideal level. So, at my present math-nerd rank, some of the book was skimmable review, and most of it was exactly what I was hoping to learn presented in a way that was neither dumbed-down nor confusing. I was afraid that the gimicky nature of a cartoon math text might go along with sloppy pedagogy, but it's exactly the opposite. I feel like a lot of thought was put into presenting the material in the most logical way possible. It's also ideal for visual learners like myself, since every concept is shown as a picture or graph, sometimes in multiple ways. And, of course, the cartoons make it fun to read. Don't expect the jokes to be hilarious, but they're cute enough to keep my attention, and that's HUGE. Now, here's who I think shouldn't buy this book: I think if you're a serious math geek you're going to find this book too slow. (On the other hand, a serious math geek probably wouldn't buy a cartoon math book anyway...) While it might be useful to a geek who's just forgotten an equation or two, you'd have to wade through a lot of cutesy stuff to find a specific bit of info. I also think you shouldn't buy this book if you're a total math-a-phobe. The book assumes a fair amount of math background, and uses scary greek letters. If you're up for a challenge, I think almost anyone can get some use from the book, but if your math skills are really lacking, you'll have to be brave when reading it. It's not going to hold your hand. This book plus a patient math-geek friend to fill in the gaps might get you through, though. I hate to discourage anyone from buying this book, since I think it does such a fantastic job - but you should have fair warning that it does go into moderately advanced concepts. In short, this is a book for nerds who think math is kinda cool, are already comfortable with the basic concepts of probability, and are looking for a serious but fun crash-course in statistics. It's also ideal for visual learners and those who find it difficult to force themselves to read prose-heavy texts. I personally feel like I'm going to rock my bio stat class thanks to this book, and I seriously enjoyed reading it.

While not perfect (what book is?), this is a worthwhile treatment of statistics. Topics are covered in a accessible and adequate depth, with appropriately entertaining cartoons intermixed between the pages. At some points, it can be difficult to comprehend what the author is trying to relay, but that's coming from this reviewer (who does not possess even a basic calculus background) --if you don't fully comprehend a passage, re-read it until you do (or quickly research the theoretical aspects of the particular subject from other sources and come back to it then). For example, I could not decipher why averages taken from many samples from the same population would always, in theory, eventually form something bell-shaped (regardless of the actual population distribution) --after reading a bit from other sources, and giving it some thought, I determined that the best explanation relates to the fact that the data, as a whole, is not how the sampling distribution is developed; rather, since the sample averages/means make up the sample distribution, and those averages will tend to cluster more and more around the population mean as the sample averages begin to reflect the central tendency of the population, it will, by default, start to resemble the Gaussian/normal distribution. Consider that the mean only represents the central tendency of a data set (and not the totality of the data). That's an obvious deduction, but this was not explained in the book (the book does explain some theory, but some key points have to be thought about --the "why" for the "what"). If you are new to statistics, have taken courses in it and need a refresher, or are interested in understanding (key word there) the essential components of the subject, I highly recommend this book. Wheelan's "Naked Statistics" is also a good read, but I don't think that any one title will make you a "stats expert". I recommend that you read EVERYTHING that you can get your hands on, start working through the free online Khan Academy stats material, and practice. Practice, practice, practice.

Libro molto divertente, informativo (ovviamente NON è un libro di testo di statistica!) e utile per ripassare e fissare le idee. Assolutamente consigliato!

Buen libro para entender conceptos complicados. Me gusta que incluye conceptos complejos y aunque es un acercamiento sencillo y breve me ha ayudado a explicar a clientes no técnicos temas complejos como diseño de experimentos.

Muy buen libro!aunque ha legado un poco dañado(

Muito bom para entender de estatística

An excellent introduction to all the core concepts of statistics. Better than my MBA statistics class. I heartily recommend Cartoon Guide to Statistics. Actually, however, the reader needs some background in a number of areas to really appreciate and fully understand the concepts introduced. Cartoon Guide to Statistics--already super excellent--could be 100% improved with more examples for each units and also actual problems to solve. The problems should have solutions with the approach--specific steps used and explained--to get to the solutions. Again, as is, an excellent introduction to the core concepts of statistics.