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The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics Paperback – July 2, 2013
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The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics is the most imaginative and accessible introductory statistics course you'll ever take. Employing an irresistible cast of dragon-riding Vikings, lizard-throwing giants, and feuding aliens, the renowned illustrator Grady Klein and the award-winning statistician Alan Dabney teach you how to collect reliable data, make confident statements based on limited information, and judge the usefulness of polls and the other numbers that you're bombarded with every day. If you want to go beyond the basics, they've created the ultimate resource: "The Math Cave," where they reveal the more advanced formulas and concepts.
Timely, authoritative, and hilarious, The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics is an essential guide for anyone who wants to better navigate our data-driven world.
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHill and Wang
- Publication dateJuly 2, 2013
- Dimensions6.95 x 0.65 x 10 inches
- ISBN-109780809033591
- ISBN-13978-0809033591
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Review
“Like a superhero coming to save the day, in flies The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics . . . Its biggest contribution is to tackle the difficulties that arise from collecting data ‘in the wild'--in the real world and not in the laboratory. This makes the book more useful than those that just stick to the concepts . . . If statistics can ever be made fun, then this book shows how.” ―The Economist
“A statistician and an artist team up to demystify data crunching for the masses. Through comical tales of dragon racing, worm collecting and soda guzzling, Klein and Dabney illustrate how statisticians gather data and make predictions . . . Entertaining yet thorough.” ―Scientific American
“[A] delightful introduction to statistics . . . The genius of the book is in its layout . . . The book's good humor, clear prose, and intelligent layout should give it a probability of success with its readers approaching 100%.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A gentle, pleasantly illustrated induction into the strange world of bell curves and chi squares . . . A smart, enjoyable overview of this most useful branch of mathematics.” ―Kirkus
“[The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics] manages to amuse and enlighten . . . Grady Klein's . . . grasp of body language makes [the illustrations] expressive and even charming. He builds a cast of characters including scientists (in white lab coats, of course), worm farmers, dragons, pirates, and more through a blocky approach with extreme variations in line width. The authors hatch some genuinely funny jokes.” ―Paste Magazine
“Working with Dr. Alan Dabney, Klein runs his agreeable little scientist characters through examples of mathematicians using numbers to quantify, analyze, and make decisions . . . The study of statistics is an ideal subject for comics, since the representation of data as graphs and symbols is akin to what cartoonists do: reducing ideas to pictures, for clarity's sake. Klein goes one step further, turning graphs into a collection of tiny drawings: of dragons, of sacks, of boxes, etc.” ―A.V. Club
“Present[s] the basics of how statistics work, how they're generated, what they actually mean, and how they can be manipulated. Klein grounds the whole thing into a narrative-based presentation to keep it from being too dry, and even amusing. Math ‘amusing'? I know, unthinkable! . . . If this is how I learned math, my life would probably be much different.” ―Comic Book Resources
“This book is a perfect treatment for anyone with a phobia of statistics or numbers. It is fun, clear, and wonderfully intuitive.” ―Charles Wheelan, author of Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data
“Thank goodness someone finally wrote a book on statistics that is actually fun to read. Be careful when you buy this book--you might not put it down until you read it all the way to the end.” ―Sebastian Thrun, Google Fellow and CEO of Udacity
“It's a well-kept secret that statistics is fun, relevant to everyone, and intellectually rewarding. Grady Klein and Alan Dabney have let the cat out of the bag with their approachable and humorous journey through the fundamental ideas that make statistics indispensable in today's data-rich world.” ―John Storey, Professor of Genomics and Statistics, Princeton University
About the Author
Alan Dabney, Ph.D., is an award-winning associate professor of statistics at Texas A&M University. He is the coauthor of The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics. He lives in College Station, Texas, with his wife and three children.
Product details
- ASIN : 0809033593
- Publisher : Hill and Wang (July 2, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780809033591
- ISBN-13 : 978-0809033591
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.95 x 0.65 x 10 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #673,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #626 in Puns & Wordplay
- #786 in Educational & Nonfiction Graphic Novels
- #798 in Probability & Statistics (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Grady Klein is a cartoonist, animator, and graphic designer. He is the co-author of cartoon introduction books on Economics, Climate Change, Statistics, Psychology, and Calculus. To see Grady's other work, including The Dust Bunny, his award-winning animated short about the terror lurking under your sofa, please google his name to visit his portfolio. He also loves writing songs and sharing them on soundcloud as TheBatfox. He lives in Corvallis, OR, with his partner Cat, and is the proud father of two boys.
I am an associate professor of statistics at Texas A&M University. I conduct research in the area of "Big Data" analysis. I've won a couple of teaching awards for doing creative things in the classroom. I'm married with 3 inspiring kids.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book an excellent introduction to statistics, describing it as a fun way to learn the subject. The illustrations receive positive feedback, with one customer noting how they help visualize data. Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning the hilarious puns throughout the dialogue. While some customers find it very easy to read, others find it hard to read.
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Customers find the book an excellent introduction to statistics, describing it as a fun and informative way to learn about data analysis.
"...The book is accessible, informative, and fun for readers of any age, but the group that would benefit the most from reading would be junior high and..." Read more
"...so for me it's really helpful to learn and store some facts and concepts in my memory. Paper is nice and the book is big...." Read more
"...She thinks it will help greatly - easier to remember if seen in pictures...." Read more
"To me statistics is a thoroughly fascinating study of how to put information about almost any subject which deals with controversial (or otherwise)..." Read more
Customers find the book enjoyable and fun to read, with one customer noting it helps make a dreaded subject enjoyable, while another mentions it's great for review.
"...The book uses illustrations and humor to draw the reader in and keep his attention, then gradually and comprehensively explains the nature and usage..." Read more
"...I can't really compare it to the other similar books, but this book is the nice one...." Read more
"...non-threatening comic book format which, in all honesty, is actually humorous with some truly hilarious puns throughout the dialogue...." Read more
"...He pulls out the core ideas in a parsimious, readable, and humorous fashion. It is an old book, but intro stats is still intro stats." Read more
Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning the hilarious puns throughout the dialogue.
"...looked through it and found it just like you'd expect from a cartoon - funny." Read more
"...in all honesty, is actually humorous with some truly hilarious puns throughout the dialogue...." Read more
"...I got this for her to help with preparing for the class, she says it’s funny and she feels a little less anxious!" Read more
"Funny and easy to understand." Read more
Customers appreciate the illustrations in the book, with one mentioning how they helped them learn the basics of statistics and another noting how they assist in visualizing data.
"...The illustrations are really fun & super helpful to understand all the concepts!!" Read more
"...It really helps you visualize the data and how to best apply the tools. I am getting copies for everyone who works for me. Lucky them." Read more
"...The cartoon illustrations helped me learn the basics of statistics. Well done!" Read more
"It's really great works, impressive illustrations and simple logic explain complex theorems." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it very easy to read and understand, while others find it hard to read.
"...He pulls out the core ideas in a parsimious, readable, and humorous fashion. It is an old book, but intro stats is still intro stats." Read more
"Cartoons are difficult to read (tiny print). Not too much explanation for things like regression, chi-squared, etc...." Read more
"...The subject matter is for slightly older kids but he has had no problem understanding and following it...." Read more
"Despite humorous cartoons, the text is incomprehensible." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2013The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics is a fun and easily accessible peek into the world of statistics. The book uses illustrations and humor to draw the reader in and keep his attention, then gradually and comprehensively explains the nature and usage of statistics. The initial reaction to what amounts to being a comic book about statistics is certainly not to take it seriously, but the writers seriously capture and explain statistics in a way that anyone can understand. Dividing the book into gradually more complex sections, the writers move at a steady pace, never explaining a topic too much or too little. Math wizards and dunces alike will understand the basics of stats by the end of this book, and learn a lot about analysis in the process. The book is accessible, informative, and fun for readers of any age, but the group that would benefit the most from reading would be junior high and high school students. A solid, entertaining, and valuable examination of data analysis.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2014Never read before such books (like a commics) about the science, so I can't really compare it to the other similar books, but this book is the nice one. I spend every day not much time in reading just a few chapters, but it gives an ability to think further, than the text (I guess that's because of the illustrations) and in the end I receive plenty of information for a one session. I'm just a beginner in a statistics, so for me it's really helpful to learn and store some facts and concepts in my memory. Paper is nice and the book is big.
Recommend to anyone who still don't know any statistics at all. It will be helpful in a today's Big Data world for sure! And it's not just about the numbers...
- Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2013I bought this for my granddaughter who is taking statistics at WSU with 240 in the class. She thinks it will help greatly - easier to remember if seen in pictures. I looked through it and found it just like you'd expect from a cartoon - funny.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2014To me statistics is a thoroughly fascinating study of how to put information about almost any subject which deals with controversial (or otherwise) variables in perspective. However, I have family and friends who illogically fear the undertaking of this study more than a root canal without anesthesia. It is for those that this book was written. It very gently leads the reader into the basics of the subject in an extremely friendly and non-threatening comic book format which, in all honesty, is actually humorous with some truly hilarious puns throughout the dialogue.
This book is highly recommended for any student who may be facing a required course in college statistics with trepidation or for any adult who is searching for an effective, easily understood primer to introduce them to a fascinating way to use numbers and/or questionnaires to reach conclusions.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2016I have been recommending this book to my public policy doctoral students for a decade, and used to assign a chapter as supplemental background reading in my econ class when we covered Bayes rule. Now that I'm teaching a section of our MPA stats course, it is a required reading. I wouldn't want this to be the only book my students read on stats, but I think it is an extremely useful supplement. (I always needed to read three textbooks in parallel when I was learning this stuff.) He pulls out the core ideas in a parsimious, readable, and humorous fashion.
It is an old book, but intro stats is still intro stats.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2022My granddaughter is taking a heavy load this fall, one of the classes she has is statistics. I got this for her to help with preparing for the class, she says it’s funny and she feels a little less anxious!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014I have taken three statistics courses at college level. I read another cartoon statistics book, too. That one was mostly about probabilities. This one gets into the guts of statistics. Some people get statistics right away and when they do, they can't be swayed. They just know, and they ruin the curve. The other 95% of us struggle. This is the best book I have ever seen on explaining statistics. Not only does it give you a clear understanding, it's—believe it or not—fun to read.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2019It's a great book for starters & people like me who are scared of numbers. The illustrations are really fun & super helpful to understand all the concepts!!
Top reviews from other countries
- Catharine Rivard-IacozzaReviewed in Canada on February 20, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Product
My husband teaches stats and he bought this book as a new way of approaching the subject. He seems pleased with the book and it's contents.
-
hugoReviewed in Mexico on November 29, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars La ruptura del paradigma
Excelente libro!!
- OlivierReviewed in France on October 11, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Another comics on statistics, yet with an interesting twist
Serious science in comics is no longer a revolution, it is now a genre, and it applies to statistics too. Yet this comics on statistics manages to bring something new. First, it is graphically interesting. It greatly differs from the clear-line drawing of previous comics. Second, it chooses a bias that gives it a lot of coherence. Indeed, it presents the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) and then only, but many, variations on the same theme. Third, it does so in two times. A first part, the largest one by far, presents CLT and its variants without any formulas, but not without rigour. The last part presents the formulas. Altogether, I recommend it as an introduction to this form of statistics.
- Jack JonesReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Great books for basic understanding of statistics
Great books for basic understanding of statistics
- Dora GavriilReviewed in Germany on June 27, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Try a visual understanding
Loved the Introduction to philosophy. This was much harder to introduce as a subject yet I understood much more than I have from any Intro to statistics book I have read. Fun and educating. Loved it.