Main content

Infant Mortality, How to Reduce Exam Revision With Maths, London’s Murder Rate

Tim Harford explains how maths can help lazy students can reduce their revision workload. Plus: why is the infant mortality rate rising in England and Wales?

(0.24) Infant mortality is on the rise in England and Wales – but is this change down to social issues such as obesity and deprivation, as claimed, or the way doctors count very premature babies?

(9.45) A self-confessed lazy student wrote in to ask how he can minimise exam revision, while still ensuring a high chance of passing – we do the sums.

(15.44) Do a billion birds really die each year by flying into buildings? We explain another zombie statistic which refuses to die.

(18.40) It was reported earlier this year that London’s murder rate was higher than New York City’s – but how do the two cities compare now, and is there any value in these snapshot comparisons?

Release date:

Available now

24 minutes

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.

When can you trust statistics?

When can you trust statistics?

BBC Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.

Podcast