The other day, a (rather clever) student told me that she has no real need for all these stats classes, because she will be a journalist. I told her that the world would be a better place if all journalists underwent compulsory numeracy classes. Here is the proof from my favourite newspaper. How long does it take you to spot the glitch?

Young people in the East Midlands were the most down-to-earth of those surveyed, expecting an annual salary of £33,468 by the time they reached their mid-thirties. However, even this figure is still around £4,000 higher than the average.

Continue reading “Journos: Back to stats 101!” »

The publication of thousands of claims by members of parliament that have the most interesting parts are blacked out has triggered a new wave of outrage over members expenses. Now, even the Guardian has to recognise that the Telegraph was instrumental in uncovering the scale of the mess we’re in. And so, in a bid to keep pace, they have released an innovative crowdsourcing tool that mirrors the principle behind NASA’s “Clickworkers” project (and Amazon’s http://mps-expenses.guardian.co.uk/ you can wade through 457,153 pages of claims and help the good people of the Guardian to identify the juiciest bits.

The task is daunting. My MP (Bob Russell) alone has put in a mere 800 pages of  claims and receipts.  But you can win a duck island. Continue reading “A New Approach to the Expenses Scandal: sleaze@home” »