Will L. (Gillimer) reviewed Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception on + 34 more book reviews
This work at first seems promising at pointing out numerical fallacies. But the author rides his one idea hard, ascribing almost anything he doesn't like to "proofiness", when the cases he cites often resulted from using the WRONG numbers, and even had nothing to do with numbers.
He also has a weakness for name-calling, and shows failings outside his field. Most notably, "casuistry" does NOT mean "making a misleading argument through seemingly sound principles" any more than "Jesuit" mean "nasty sneaky devious person". It is the study of moral CASES.
He also has a weakness for name-calling, and shows failings outside his field. Most notably, "casuistry" does NOT mean "making a misleading argument through seemingly sound principles" any more than "Jesuit" mean "nasty sneaky devious person". It is the study of moral CASES.
Excellent book. He clearly describes the math behind statistics in an easy to understand way and shows how it can be distorted to produce inaccurate views. I especially liked his analysis of the Bush v Gore problems in Florida and the Franken - Coleman senate election in Minnesota.
