Every single day, we get hit with an absolute avalanche of numbers. They pop up in breaking news headlines claiming a new drug will slash your health risks by fifty percent, show up on your social med...

Dr Rebecca Duncan's research examines the changing composition of sea ice microalgae.

Dr Rebecca Duncan's research examines the changing composition of sea ice microalgae.

Sometimes it's hard to know what statistics are worthy of trust. But we shouldn't count out stats altogether ... instead, we should learn to look behind them. In this delightful, hilarious talk, data journalist Mona Chalabi shares handy tips to help question, interpret and truly understand what the numbers are saying.

What gets in the way of a productive conversation about risk communication? Being a normal human, that’s what.

A Field Guide to Lies [Daniel J. Levitin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Field Guide to Lies

<p>The fact-checkers have been working overtime looking into the numbers used by Donald Trump during his campaign to become President of the USA. In the wake of the election next week, we take a look at some of Trump’s more outrageous statistical claims</p>

It does not appear we have entered a post-truth era, but partisanship still plays a big role in holding onto false beliefs.

In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes. We learn to read and write but not how to deal with uncertainty: we are risk illiterates. Why do we fear what's unlikely to kill us? Is it true that people are basically hopeless when it comes to managing health and wealth? Some experts have concluded that Homo Sapiens ("man the wise") is a misnomer, and that John and Jane Q. Public need continuous guidance, as a child needs a parent. Against this pessimistic view, Gerd Gigerenzer argues that everyone can learn to deal with risk and uncertainty, and that experts can be part of the problem rather than the solution. A democracy needs risk-savvy citizens who cannot be easily frightened into surrendering their money, their welfare, and their liberty. We should begin to teach risk literacy to everyone. Gerd Gigerenzer is director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy in Berlin. Previous positions he held include Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and John M. Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor, School of Law at the University of Virginia. He is also a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the German Academy of Sciences, and Batten Fellow at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Basel and the Open University of the Netherlands. Awards for his work include the AAAS Prize for the best article in the behavioral sciences, the Association of American Publishers Prize for the best book in the social and behavioral sciences, the German Psychology Award, and the Communicator Award of the German Research Foundation. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

The Trump campaign has used a combination of cherry-picked polls and misleading data visualization to paint a cheerier picture of their prospects on election day.