The cartoon guide to statistics
by Larry Gonick · first published 1993
94% recommend6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Builds intuition for statistics through illustrations, humor and historical asides without watering down the content; a good first step for beginners before moving on to standard textbooks.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Illustrates the principles of statistics through humorous cartoons.
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Mentions per year
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…been given by people who supposedly use statistics all the time, I don't believe that many trained statisticians have any idea what they are doing. That said, here's what has sort of worked for me: - Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick - Fundamentals of Applied Probability Theory by Al Drake: out of print, and mostly about probability. However, the stats intro at the end is the clearest one I've ever read. Originally…
on “For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics” ↗The Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Gonick and Smith is actually quite good for dipping your toes in. It should give you an okay conceptual foundation from which you can tackle the textbooks you've already got.
on “Programmers Need To Learn Statistics Or I Will Kill Them All” ↗…about it a bit in Statistics Done Wrong. But I've never come across a very good conceptual introduction to statistics, so this is roughly the best I know. There are also amusing variations, like the cartoon guide to statistics: http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/... If you find a useful resource, I'd like to hear what worked for you.
on “Ask HN: What are you working on and why is it cool?” ↗A couple of good books: How to lie with statistics (Good intro to concepts, light on actual math) The cartoon guide to statistics (the first chapter or two covers what I learned in my college Intro to Stats class -- the rest is over my head)
on “Ask HN: Learning Statistics?” ↗'The Cartoon Guide to Statistics', Gonick and Smith, is surprisingly substantial for its style and target, an easy way to get started.
on “Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read?” ↗How to lie with statistics The Cartoon Guide to Statistics (Don't laugh, it's a serious tome. Past chapter 2, it's not introductory level info.)
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite statistics and probability textbooks?” ↗Read the "Cartoon Guide to Statistics". It's no joke. Rather, perhaps the book that explains statistics in the clearest way. http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/...
on “Ask HN: Suggestions for learning statistics (& prob) really fast?” ↗There's the Cartoon Guide to Statistics ( http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick/... ), which, despite its name, is pretty solid and comprehensive book on basics. And definitely not boring!
on “Programmers Need To Learn Statistics Or I Will Kill Them All (2005)” ↗I can't recommend Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick and Woollcott Smith enough. It's a great resource for developing an intuitive understanding and can often answer questions by explaining the concepts in a different way that traditional…
on “For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics” ↗…YMMV.) I haven't gotten to the chapters for math I'm completely new to yet, but it seems like it would introduce you to enough basic concepts that you could have a clearer idea where to go next. _The Cartoon Guide to Statistics_ by Larry Gonick (http://www.librarything.com/work/12735) seems like a good statistics refresher / overview. It's not that deep, and it's rather hokey, but it's a quick read. An important part of reading…
on “Ask HN: the road to learning useful math” ↗'The Cartoon Guide to Statistics', Gonick might be useful. A number of smart people [1][2] recommend it. [1] http://www.stat.cmu.edu/~cshalizi/36-220/syllabus.pdf [2] http://mathbabe.org/2014/07/11/the-lede-program-students-are...
on “Statistics: P values are just the tip of the iceberg” ↗I'm a huge fan of the Cartoon Guide to Statistics. I imagine all Larry Gonick's books are worth a read: http://www.larrygonick.com/
on “The Talk” ↗I recommend The Cartoon Guide to Statistics, as a good way to get into stats. I've taught a class using it work a number of times, and it makes a great first exposure. The equations are there, explained in a really nice way. https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Statistics-Larry-Gonick...
on “Common statistical tests are linear models” ↗There are a number of fairly good books on statistics. One of the best is How To Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff which was written in 1954. There is also the Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick and Woolcott Smith. The problem most statistics books is that they don't focus on what you can do with statistics. It is important if you are a gambler or want to understand artificial…
on “Ask HN: Would you read a statistics textbook?” ↗I rather enjoyed "The Cartoon Guide to Statistics", but it might not be quite what you're looking for.
on “Ask YC: Best book to learns statistics?” ↗