How juries are fooled by statistics

TEDGlobal 2005 · 21:20 · Filmed Jul 2005

17 subtitle languages

Michael Shermer: Why people believe weird things

Oxford mathematician Peter Donnelly reveals the common mistakes humans make in interpreting statistics — and the devastating impact these errors can have on the outcome of criminal trials.

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Peter Donnelly

Mathematician; statistician

Peter Donnelly is an expert in probability theory who applies statistical methods to genetic data — spurring advances in disease treatment and insight on our evolution. He's also an expert on DNA analysis, and an advocate for sensible statistical analysis in the courtroom. Full bio