Overview

Is it sensible to screen for breast or prostate cancer? Should the locations of cancer clusters be made available to the general public? When a doctor wants to perform major surgery and there's no chance for a second opinion, do you agree?The answers to these questions are not as black and white as they may first appear. Medical Illuminations presents thirteen contemporary medical topics, from the diminishing value of mammograms to how to decide if a hip needs to be replaced, to understanding cancer maps. In each case it illustrates how modern tools of statistical thinking and statistical graphics can illuminate our understanding. The goals are to solve some vexing problems that seem perplexing, and to make both the problems and their solutions clear to a non-technical audience. The aim is to ignite in the reader an understanding of statistical thinking, which, though subtle, can be learned without going through arcane mathematics. And, moreover, that learning about how to think in this way provides a huge payoff in the deeper understanding of our complex world.

Full Product Details

9780199668793

Table of Contents

Reviews

In science, information without understanding can be useless and even harmful. Science requires a depth of understanding. To assist this understanding, data must be accurate, lucid and comprehensible. Dr. Wainer has done an extraordinary job of explaining this reality. Medical Illuminations is well written, insightful and thought provoking. It is filled with evocative stories and examples that are memorable, forcing one to think critically. In addition to the book's important message and examples, I would also recommend this book because it is a pleasure to read. Medical Illuminations is an important work that puts the data used to explain much of medical science in a realistic and important context. In a word, this work is - brilliant! Christopher W. Hansen, President of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network On the journey from factual knowledge to conceptual understanding, Howard Wainer is an able guide and a most amiable companion. Joseph Bernstein, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Veterans' Hospital Philadelphia His sensitivities are well aligned with the huge upswing in interest in these topics, but once again he leads the way with fresh ideas, compelling examples, wise generalizations, and clever phrases. Ben Schneiderman, Science

Medical Illuminations offers ample substance along with sufficient piquant comments to ensure that readers reflect on every sentence. ... Wainer's inspirational set of commentaries on medical applications for statistics and visualization delivers meaningful lessons for beginners and experts. I highly recommend it. --Science

Author Information

Howard Wainer is a statistician and author; Medical Illuminations is his 20th book. His first two medical books (technical works in pediatrics) were published almost 40 years ago. He has been working primarily on medical topics since 2001 as the Distinguished Research Scientist of the National Board of Medical Examiners. At various times in his career he has taught at Princeton, The University of Chicago and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has a PhD from Princeton and is a fellow in the American Statistical Association and the American Educational Research Association. He has been the recipient of many awards for his broad ranging research and has served internationally on many editorial boards of leading statistical journals as well as a consultant to both government and industry. He has also written a column in the magazine Chance for the past 24 years.

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