＜CBS - Creative Brilliant Scientific＞Detect Faked Data at Your Next Presentation Using Simple ... 2024

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Most of us arent math whzizzes, and so our eyes glaze over when presented with lots of numbers. Thats what fakers count on when they pad expense reports, bolster their KPIs, and doctor charts at the quarterly review. Theyre all just numbers, right? Unless you have access to the original data, you just have to take their word for it.

Not quite. Theres a simple mathematical principle called Benfords Law that says numbers dont occur randomly in nature, and that makes it somewhat easier to know if youre looking at faked data.

Actually, when I say its simple, Im kind of exaggerating. It all comes from this equation, which predicts the probability of encountering any particular number at random:

Actually, it isnt as spooky as it sounds; it all makes sense when you read the very accessible and plain-English article at SHIFT_beep[1]. Check it out and it youll definitely feel smarter. [via Lifehacker[2]]

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View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch »[4]Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera[5]. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired.

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