absolute-relative-risk

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

Many of the animations were produced using Flash and will no longer work.

2845 ways to spin the Risk

In the animation below we show how risks can be ‘spun’ to look bigger or smaller, how medical treatments can be made to seem useless or to be wonder cures, and how lifestyle changes might look worthwhile or not worth bothering with. All by changing the words used, the way the numbers are expressed, and the particular graphics chosen.

Stating the Risk Test Page

Placeholder for article with animation.

Version 8

Release notes:

  • Fixed a bug in v7 which caused the texts to differ from the icons due to rounding.
  • Fixed configuration bug
  • Uses standard (now revised) uu framing.
  • Logo links back to uu home
  • Title links back to uu article
  • Personalise tab revised to use popup editors.
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