Sign-In
Cart
Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking
Hardcover
Medical ReferenceGeneral PsychologyProbability & Statistics
ISBN13: 9780231201384
Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr
Published: May 10 2022
Pages: 256
Weight: 1.10
Height: 1.00 Width: 6.10 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
A fast-food chain once tried to compete with McDonald's quarter-pounder by introducing a third-pound hamburger-only for it to flop when consumers thought a third pound was less than a quarter pound because three is less than four. Separately, a rash of suicides by teenagers who played Dungeons and Dragons caused a panic in parents and the media. They thought D&D was causing teenage suicides-when in fact teenage D&D players died by suicide at a much lower rate than the national average. Errors of this type can be found from antiquity to the present, from the Peloponnesian War to the COVID-19 pandemic. How and why do we keep falling into these traps?
James C. Zimring argues that many of the mistakes that the human mind consistently makes boil down to misperceiving fractions. We see slews of statistics that are essentially fractions, such as percentages, probabilities, frequencies, and rates, and we tend to misinterpret them. Sometimes bad actors manipulate us by cherry-picking data or distorting how information is presented; other times, sloppy communicators inadvertently mislead us. In many cases, we fool ourselves and have only our own minds to blame. Zimring also explores the counterintuitive reason that these flaws might benefit us, demonstrating that individual error can be highly advantageous to problem solving by groups. Blending key scientific research in cognitive psychology with accessible real-life examples, Partial Truths helps readers spot the fallacies lurking in everyday information, from politics to the criminal justice system, from religion to science, from business strategies to New Age culture.
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Probability & Statistics
R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data
Wickham, Hadley
Grolemund, Garrett
Paperback
AP Statistics Premium, 2027: 9 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Sternstein, Martin, PH. D.
Paperback
R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data
Cetinkaya-Rundel, Mine
Wickham, Hadley
Grolemund, Garrett
Paperback
Graph Paper Composition Notebook: Quad Ruled 5x5, Grid Paper for Students in Math and Science
Wizo, Math
Paperback
Stat 208 Statistical Thinking: A Book for Stat 208 at Virginia Commonwealth University
Durfee, Becky
Street IV, W. Scott
Paperback
The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck
Spiegelhalter, David
Paperback
Forecasting: Principles and Practice, the Pythonic Way
Hyndman, Rob J.
Athanasopoulos, George
Paperback
Introduction to Statistics: An Intuitive Guide for Analyzing Data and Unlocking Discoveries
Frost, Jim
Paperback
The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck
Spiegelhalter, David
Hardcover
How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
Smil, Vaclav
Paperback
Mastering Claude AI: Practical Journey from First Prompts to Pro with Claude AI
Dickey, Ryan
Paperback
The Random Universe: How Models and Probability Help Us Make Sense of the Cosmos
Jaffe, Andrew H.
Hardcover
Scale: The Universal Laws of Life, Growth, and Death in Organisms, Cities, and Companies
West, Geoffrey
Paperback
Ai-Assisted Statistics for Data Scientists: 50+ Essential Concepts Using R and Python
Bruce, Peter
Bruce, Andrew
Gedeck, Peter
Paperback
Advanced Statistics in Research: Reading, Understanding, and Writing Up Data Analysis Results
Hatcher, Larry
Paperback
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Computing: A Scaffolding Approach
Lee, Peter
Yu, James
Cheng, Ran
Hardcover
Schaum's Outline of Probability and Statistics, 4th Edition: 897 Solved Problems + 20 Videos
Spiegel, Murray R.
Schiller, John J.
Srinivasan, R. Alu
Paperback
An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in R
James, Gareth
Witten, Daniela
Hastie, Trevor
Paperback
The Only Math Book You'll Ever Need, Revised Edition: Hundreds of Easy Solutions and Shortcuts for Mastering Everyday Numbers
Heller, Barbara R.
Kogelman, Stanley
Paperback
SQL Server 2025 Unveiled: The Ai-Ready Enterprise Database with Microsoft Fabric Integration
Ward, Bob
Paperback
How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
Smil, Vaclav
Hardcover
Mathletics: How Gamblers, Managers, and Fans Use Mathematics in Sports, Second Edition
Pelechrinis, Konstantinos
Winston, Wayne L.
Nestler, Scott
Paperback
Building Large Language Models from Scratch: Design, Train, and Deploy Llms with Pytorch
Grigorov, Dilyan
Paperback
Regression Modeling Strategies: With Applications to Linear Models, Logistic and Ordinal Regression, and Survival Analysis
Harrell Jr, Frank E.
Paperback
Schaum's Outline of Probability, Random Variables, and Random Processes, Fourth Edition
Hsu, Hwei P.
Paperback
Quantum Computing and Quantum Machine Learning for Engineers and Developers
Rosas-Bustos, Jose
Fraser, Roydon Andrew
Van Griensven Thé, Jesse
Hardcover
Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions
Downey, Allen B.
Paperback
Making ChatGPT Work for You: Getting the Most Out of Generative AI as a Non-Techie
Evelyn, Lydia
Paperback
Probably the Best Book on Statistics Ever Written: How to Beat the Odds and Make Better Decisions
Shapira, Haim
Hardcover
Challenging Mathematical Problems with Elementary Solutions, Vol. I: Volume 1
Yaglom, A. M.
Yaglom, I. M.
Paperback
The End of Average: Unlocking Our Potential by Embracing What Makes Us Different
Rose, Todd
Paperback
The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
Domingos, Pedro
Paperback
Databricks Data Intelligence Platform: Unlocking the Genai Revolution
Gupta, Nikhil
Yip, Jason
Paperback
Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions
Downey, Allen B.
Hardcover
Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won
Wertheim, L. Jon
Moskowitz, Tobias
Paperback
AI for Robotics: Toward Embodied and General Intelligence in the Physical World
Gopalakrishnan, Keerthana
Imran, Alishba
Paperback
Time Series Analysis and Its Applications: With R Examples
Shumway, Robert H.
Stoffer, David S.
Hardcover
Large Language Models: A Deep Dive: Bridging Theory and Practice
Kamath, Uday
Keenan, Kevin
Somers, Garrett
Hardcover
Building Generative AI Agents: Using Langgraph, Autogen, and Crewai
Deshmukh, Gaurav
Taulli, Tom
Paperback
The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of C
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch
Paperback
Machine Learning Q and AI: 30 Essential Questions and Answers on Machine Learning and AI
Raschka, Sebastian
Paperback
Modern Time Series Forecasting with Python - Second Edition: Industry-ready machine learning and deep learning time series analysis with PyTorch and p
Joseph, Manu
Tackes, Jeffrey
Paperback
Challenging Mathematical Problems with Elementary Solutions, Vol. II: Volume 2
Yaglom, A. M.
Yaglom, I. M.
Paperback
Learning Statistics with Jamovi: A Tutorial for Beginners in Statistical Analysis
Foxcroft, David
Navarro, Danielle
Paperback
An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in Python
Hastie, Trevor
James, Gareth
Witten, Daniela
Hardcover
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Computing: A Scaffolding Approach
Lee, Peter
Yu, James
Cheng, Ran
Paperback
Guesstimation: Solving the World's Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin
Adam, John a.
Weinstein, Lawrence
Paperback
Deep Learning in Computational Mechanics: An Introductory Course
Jokeit, Moritz
Herrmann, Leon
Weeger, Oliver
Hardcover
High-Dimensional Probability: An Introduction with Applications in Data Science
Vershynin, Roman
Hardcover
The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 2: Spatial Measurements and Statistics
Mitchell, Andy
Griffin, Lauren Scott
Paperback
The Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction, Second Edition
Hastie, Trevor
Tibshirani, Robert
Friedman, Jerome
Hardcover
Unlocking Dbt: Design and Deploy Transformations in Your Cloud Data Warehouse
Dorsey, Dustin
Cyr, Cameron
Paperback
ACCUPLACER Math Prep: ACCUPLACER Math Test Study Guide with Two Practice Tests [Includes Detailed Answer Explanations]
Tpb Publishing
Paperback
Observability for Large Language Models: Site Reliability and Chaos Engineering for AI at Scale
Sharma, Ankush
Paperback
Bayesian Analysis with Python - Third Edition: A practical guide to probabilistic modeling
Martin, Osvaldo
Paperback
An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in Python
Hastie, Trevor
James, Gareth
Witten, Daniela
Paperback
Large Language Model Recipes: A Hands-On Guide to Fine-Tuning, Optimization, Deployment, and Real-World Applications
Kaata, Sashi Kiran
Bolla, Bharath Kumar
Subbaiah, Kalpa
Paperback
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists
Best, Joel
Hardcover
The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities
Dembski, William A.
Ewert, Winston
Hardcover
Introduction to Statistics: An Intuitive Guide for Analyzing Data and Unlocking Discoveries
Frost, Jim
Hardcover
Prompt Engineering for Everyone: A Self-Taught, Human-Centered Approach to AI Programming
Tavakoli, Hamid
Paperback
R in Action, Third Edition: Data Analysis and Graphics with R and Tidyverse
Kabacoff, Robert I.
Paperback
Enterprise Guide for Implementing Generative AI and Agentic AI: A Practical Guide to Developing, Deploying, and Operationalizing Ai-Driven Application
Sinha, Vikas
Edward, Shakuntala Gupta
Bhattacharya, Rahul
Paperback
Student's Solutions Guide for Introduction to Probability, Statistics, and Random Processes
Pishro-Nik, Hossein
Paperback
Large Language Models: From Theory to Production
Vanegas, Esteban
Noguer I. Alonso, Miquel
Pacheco Aznar, David
Paperback
A Modern Introduction to Probability and Statistics: Understanding Why and How
Kraaikamp, C.
Lopuhaä, H. P.
Dekking, F. M.
Hardcover
Making Statistics Work: Information Theory and Bayesian Inference
Scharfenaker, Ellis
Foley, Duncan
Paperback
The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day
Hand, David J.
Paperback
From Data to Dollars: Getting Started with Data Analytics and AI in Startups
Sidoruk, Piotr
Paperback