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What to make of the coronavirus “mortality rate”? Communicating risk effectively

Photo by Markus Spiske on UnsplashLanguage is powerful, and how we use it subconsciously shapes…

Narcyz GhineaApril 9, 2020

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Statistics in court: Incorrect probabilities

Although both the law and statistical theory have foundations that rest on formal rules and…

Jim Norton and George DivineApril 9, 2019

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What is the bootstrap?

Bradley Efron (pictured) was awarded the 2018 International Prize in Statistics for the creation of…

James J. CochranNovember 23, 2018

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Still running against the odds: revisiting the London Marathon ballot

Monday 15 October had a lot of people eagerly awaiting the postman to deliver the…

Anthony HatswellOctober 29, 2018

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and family

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Betting on a royal birth: how many babies will be born the same day?

On 4 September 2017, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – better known as “William…

Shomoita Alam and James HanleyFebruary 22, 2018

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A time to kill: Great British serial killers

"Serial killer" is a term customarily used to refer to a person who has murdered…

Charlotte Moragh Jones-ToddDecember 19, 2017

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What is the most popular birthday in England and Wales?

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently published an analysis of live births from…

Mario Cortina Borja and Peter MartinMarch 3, 2017

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Is Christmas really coming earlier? Maybe, but not as early as August

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article in which I examined the evidence…

Nathan CunninghamNovember 28, 2016

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The 2016 Prediction Games – Part I

Prior to the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, over a dozen different groups around…

Tim PauldenAugust 17, 2016

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Lost in the crowd? A statistician explains how to find your friends at a music festival

While mobile phones have all but eradicated the fine art of getting lost, there are…

Nathan CunninghamJune 23, 2016

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The EU referendum – one week to go: extracting insights from Facebook using R

A referendum is being held on 23 June to provide an answer to the question…

JulianJune 20, 2016

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The challenges for GDP, now and in the future

When Professor Sir Charlie Bean published his review of UK economic statistics in March, he…

Diane CoyleApril 25, 2016

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Is ‘you know who’ dead? Predicting the future in Game of Thrones

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/umairadeeb/The narrative cliff-hanger is a fiendish device – ramping up drama and tension only…

Richard ValeApril 21, 2016

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Why forensic bite mark analysis lacks teeth

Steven Mark Chaney was convicted in 1987 of the murder of a drug dealer who…

Jim Norton and George DivineMarch 17, 2016

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How do you measure disaster risk?

In September this year, the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will come to an end…

Julia HallAugust 25, 2015

News

Stories and statistics – August 2015 issue preview

In a 2010 New York Times column, mathematician John Allen Paulos wrote about stories and…

Brian TarranAugust 12, 2015

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Where is Donald Trump’s statistician?

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States, he included a…

Carlos Alberto Gómez GrajalesJuly 30, 2015

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Official stats mask extent of domestic violence in the UK

Research has found that the rate of violent crime is 60% higher than official statistics…

Sylvia WalbyJune 15, 2015

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Five things we learned at the RSS #immigrationfacts debate

One of the more interesting dynamics in British politics in recent years has been the…

Brian TarranApril 28, 2015

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How do the changing seasons affect urban bike riders?

I love cycling. While I could write a whole manifesto about why bike riding is…

Ilan ManJanuary 8, 2015