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How to Make the World Add Up

Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers

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How to Make the World Add Up

By: Tim Harford
Narrated by: Tim Harford
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About this listen

The Sunday Times best seller.

When was the last time you read a grand statement, accompanied by a large number and wondered whether it could really be true? Statistics are vital in helping us tell stories - we see them in the papers, on social media and we hear them used in everyday conversation - and yet we doubt them more than ever.

But numbers - in the right hands - have the power to change the world for the better. Contrary to popular belief, good statistics are not a trick, although they are a kind of magic. Good statistics are not smoke and mirrors; in fact, they help us see more clearly. Good statistics are like a telescope for an astronomer, a microscope for a bacteriologist or an X-ray for a radiologist. If we are willing to let them, good statistics help us see things about the world around us and about ourselves - both large and small ­- that we would not be able to see in any other way.

In How to Make the World Add Up, Tim Harford draws on his experience as both an economist and presenter of the BBC's radio show More or Less. He takes us deep into the world of disinformation and obfuscation, bad research and misplaced motivation to find those priceless jewels of data and analysis that make communicating with numbers worthwhile. Harford's characters range from the art forger who conned the Nazis to the stripper who fell in love with the most powerful congressman in Washington, to famous data detectives such as John Maynard Keynes, Daniel Kahneman and Florence Nightingale. He reveals how we can evaluate the claims that surround us with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.

Using 10 simple rules for understanding numbers - plus one golden rule - this extraordinarily insightful book shows how if we keep our wits about us, thinking carefully about the way numbers are sourced and presented, we can look around us and see with crystal clarity how the world adds up.

(Published in the US as The Data Detective.)

©2020 Tim Harford (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK
Economics Mathematics Physics Inspiring
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Critic reviews

"If you aren't in love with stats before reading this book, you will be by the time you're done. Powerful, persuasive, and in these truth-defying times, indispensable." (Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women)

"...lucid, witty and authoritative.... Every politician and journalist should be made to [listen to] this book, but everyone else will get so much pleasure and draw so much strength from the joyful way it dispels the clouds of deceit and delusion." (Stephen Fry)

"Tim Harford is one of my favourite writers in the world. His storytelling is gripping but never overdone, his intellectual honesty is rare and inspiring and his ability to make complex things simple - but not simplistic - is exceptional. How to Make the World Add Up is another one of his gems. If you're looking for an addictive pageturner that will make you smarter, this is your book." (Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind)

What listeners say about How to Make the World Add Up

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no caution required, hear this

Tim's cautionary tales podcast had kept me interested for years. I knew this would be good and I wasn't wrong. if you like books like thinking fast and slow you'll love this one.

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Excellent

Informative, thoughtful and balanced ... and highly recommended. Greatly increases awareness of how statistics and information more generally is used to colour and influence our perceptions of the world around us, and encourages us to think and challenge what we're told much more carefully.

Narration by the author himself is an additional positive.

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This book adds to your knowledge

What a fantastic listen, brilliant performance by the author, an engaging and sometimes challenging discussion on statistical analysis and it’s impact on our daily lives.

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Engaging and well presented

An engaging audiobook that is well presented. Not what I expected though as I wanted to understand some of the basics of statistics. A good listen.

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Very engaging

Harford tells great stories to make the issues and ideas come to life. Accessible but not dumbed down.

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A must-read in the age of data

This is an amazing book that opens our eyes to be naturally curious and inquisitive, beyond the catchy headlines from most reports and articles.

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fascinating but can't listen in car

Recording is too quiet & Audible doesn't have a loudness toggle or better yet slider.

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Tim Harford at his best

Listened to the whole thing in a day. beautifully written and narrated as always he is an expert at generating the type of curiosity that the book endorses.

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Relevant and compelling

and very well read by the author himself - though as a radio journalist, he should be good!

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Also Sprach Tim Harford

Tim Harford is a national treasure, a calm influence in chaotic times, an excellent communicator. Please can you narrate all of your books

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