“Statistica enigmistica”: An ISTAT puzzle magazine to introduce non-specialists to statistics through a ludic approach

Abstract

Spreading the culture of data as a means of understanding and evaluating reality, and of making informed decisions, is one of the missions of Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Istat promotes statistical literacy also for non-professional audiences. Therefore, researchers’ efforts are aimed at finding appealing proposals to emphasize the importance of having statistical skills in every-day life. Recently, Istat created “Statistica enigmistica”: a puzzle magazine designed to play with concepts, definitions and data, and to encourage the use of the cognitive tools of Statistics when observing and comprehending society. The games have been designed to involve a wide audience, ranging from children to adults. The topics have been selected to offer an overview of the main statistical data regarding Italian society, and to give useful references for further insights.