Darrell Huff

Darrell Huff was an American statistician and writer best known for his nonfiction work How to Lie with Statistics. This groundbreaking book has become a classic in the field of statistical analysis, offering readers a way to understand the importance of basing conclusions on facts and data rather than preconceived assumptions.

Huff was born in 1924 in Iowa and served in the US Navy during World War II, where he attended the Navy's electronic-weapons-training school. After his military service, Huff went on to study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he graduated with a degree in statistics and economics in 1950. Huff then went to work for a research arm of Time magazine in New York, for which he wrote editorials and newsies. After four years, Huff left and freelanced as a writer, editor, and statistician for nearly two decades.

Huff's most notable work, How to Lie with Statistics, was written in 1954 with the intention of helping the public become more savvy consumers of the growing number of statistics they encountered daily. In the book, Huff illustrates how easy it is to massage the facts to produce a completely different narrative, and how to spot when somebody has done exactly that. He advises readers on how to comprehend the meaning of statistics, encouraging them to think critically and think beyond the numbers. He humorously describes all the tricks of the trade, such as juggling figures, omitting inconvenient facts, and taking advantage of the confusion between correlation and causation.

In addition to his nonfiction work, Huff was also a strong advocate of creative nonfiction writing. He saw it as the perfect way to bring together both creativity and the verification of facts. He wrote several books in this genre, including High Man All Around: Essays on Creative Writing and Editing and The Writer's Art and Craft. He was also an Associated Press Correspondent for many years, and worked as a consultant on various research campaigns, from a federal study of the safety of meat to a presidential inquiry into space exploration.

Throughout his career, Huff wrote for a variety of publications, including magazines, newspapers, and radio programs. He was also a frequent lecturer in academic settings such as colleges and universities. His contributions to literary life have earned him a place in media history; in fact, he was posthumously inducted into the Media Hall of Fame.

Darrell Huff was an influential writer and statistician whose works are still widely referred to today. His classic book, How to Lie with Statistics, continues to educate readers on the importance of being able to discern fact from opinion. As a creative nonfiction writer and lecturer, he was a strong proponent of creative expression and the verification of facts. Whether he was writing editorials or teaching students, Huff's contributions to the literary world have not been forgotten, and his memory lives on.