How Data Works: A Toolkit for India
KK Kailash
WHOLE NUMBERS AND HALF TRUTHS: WHAT DATA CAN AND CANNOT TELL US ABOUT MODERN INDIA by Rukmini S. Context, Chennai, 2021, 324 pp., 699.00
August 2022, volume 46, No 8

Given the general fear of numbers, a book on numbers is unlikely to excite many. However, in Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India, Rukmini S makes sure the numbers do not hit you in the face but instead speak to you and encourage you to ask questions. With the so-called data explosion and the fact that everybody claims to be relying on data, Whole Numbers is essential reading for both data presenters as well as its consumers. At the same time, this easily readable and informative book underlines the limitations of numbers and urges us to be cautious while using them to comprehend the complicated world around us.

In each of the ten tight and delightfully written chapters, Rukmini introduces a theme and then demonstrates how numbers help us appreciate that particular social reality. While numbers are used for analysis, in Whole Numbers, the arrow is inverted, and numbers become the object of analysis. The underlying message is that numbers are not just a mirror to our society; they also define and shape it while describing how social reality is categorized and measured, what methods and statistics are used for collection and interpretation, and the type of tables and graphs used to present information matter.

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