not_a_real_folkie

Clear explanations of stats for medical (and, at a push, life sciences) researchers, 7 Jan 2014

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)

There are many books claiming to explain statistics in non-mathematical terms, with varying degrees of success. Classics like Moroney's "Facts from Figures" are elegant but perhaps a little stuffy to the modern reader. Other more recent attempts to 'dumb down' statistics have (in my experience) failed because you need to retain *some* maths in order to explain statistical methods adequately.

This book achieves an excellent compromise between drowning the reader in equations and 'dumbing down' beyond the point of usefulness. The explanations of sampling, t-tests, anova and regression are all beautifully clear. The author takes care to define jargon and specialist terms before… Read more

Short accurate summaries for the non-specialist, 2 Jan 2014

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)

This is one of a series of "Rapids" published by Wiley-Blackwell on medical topics. The content is aimed at non-specialist clinicians and those in parallel professions. The book begins with basic anatomy and physiology, before the main section on diseases, which are listed alphabetically.

Each disease summary is presented in a format that is almost "bullet points", with no extraneous woffle. Some might find the brief summaries *too* brief, but that's what specialist texts and journals are for, I guess.

The book is supported by online material in Powerpoint format that is easy to download, informative for the reader and excellent for those who need to communicate… Read more

Dishwasher cleaner cleans dishwashers (shock horror exclusive - pics p5), 27 Dec 2013

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)

Dishwasher manufacturers are always keen that we should use products like this, and my Bosch model about 3 years old) came with a sticker affixed, recommending Finish dishwasher cleaner. I have used this and an own-brand version from a well-known supermarket. The Finish product did the business; the supermarket one, on the other hand, left the dishwasher smelling like the handkerchief of a lady of ill repute!

If you've ever had the joy of trying to fix a broken dishwasher, you'll know that the build-up of crud inside their hidden pipework is no urban myth. This product does the job and you won't be reminded of ladies of ill repute in the process.