How to lie with Statistics

Darrell Huff wrote a book called How to Lie with Statistics in 1954. He gave numerous examples of how statistics can be used – either deliberately or carelessly – to deceive an audience.

Despite his widely read critique, statistics continue to be misused, even by people who should know better. The picture above is taken from the Times Educational Supplement. It purports to show the funding difference per pupil in London compared with the South West. The graph's vertical axis does not start at £0 but at just under £4,000. This gives the misleading impression that London pupils receive around four times as much funding as those in the South West. In fact they receive about a quarter more. So the graph has exaggerated the difference by a factor of sixteen.