Wines, Fine Wines, and Statistics

Here are some samples from the books I've been reading:

"My books are water; those of the great geniuses are wine - everybody drinks water." - Mark Twain
Both fine wines and biostatistics are characterized by complexities and subtleties that are truly appreciated only by the relatively few people who devote the time to master them. To these readers, we extend our apologies; this book was not written for you. Rather, it was written for a much larger group of readers: those who thirst for a basic understanding of statistics, but who do not aspire to appreciate the nuances." - How to Report Statistics in Medicine, by Lang and Secic page xi


"Case-control studies are the "house red" on the research design wine list: more modest and a little riskier than the other selections, but much less expensive and sometimes surprisingly good" (111) - Designing Clinical Research, Second Edition, Hulley et al

As for the books themselves, I'd say firm they're intense, with a mix of earthy pages, dark inks, and a natural arboreal aroma. Pages turn supple and elegant before the firming up on the finish. Read now through 2011. By then they might have new editions. 88 Points. I think there is an unspoken rule of only one wine analogy per epidemiology book, but I'll let you know if I find more.