How to Lie with Statistics

Chapter 2 covers the problem of averages in statistics and how they can be used to deceive the reader. Huff says that reporting an average can vary without lying or giving false information. Instead, the type of average used for a statistic can mislead the audience toward the wrong conclusions. The three main types of averages used in statistics are the mean, the median, and the mode.

Huff begins by giving a fictional example in which he changes the average income for a neighborhood depending on which average he uses. While he notes that sometimes the averages are the same or close enough not to be a problem, this is often false. In this case, the word “average” is meaningless unless the reader knows what kind it is. Huff describes this issue with a distribution curve. If the averages are close, the curve has a bell shape. However, if the numbers have a wide variation, the distribution curve becomes asymmetrical, which Huff describes as shaped like a slide. He gives an example of the average wage at a company, breaking down the process of arriving at the different averages and why some look “better” than others.