The October 2020 issue (17:5) of Significance has just been published.

Included in this issue:

Andrew Gustar explains how power laws describe patterns of musical success, from pop charts and streaming services to classical concerts.

In mid‐August, an algorithm spat out “synthetic” exam grades so absurd and distressing to students that they had to be ditched just four days later. But what exactly went wrong? Dr Tim Paulden explains.

Brian Tarran interviews Tim Harford, the More or Less presenter and Financial Times columnist, about his new book, How to Make the World Add Up.

When standing for election, politicians often position themselves as “outsiders”, promising to shake up the status quo. But once elected, do “outsiders” become “insiders”? Iliyan R. Iliev, Xin Huang and Yulia R. Gel search for clues through the analysis of political rhetoric.

In 2020, as in 2016, US presidential candidates may dismiss some election polls as fake while lauding others as trustworthy. But don’t just take their word for it! Ole J. Forsberg offers information and advice to help voters decide which polls and polling houses to trust.

Significance magazine has opened its archives for access by the public. The magazine’s volumes 1-15 and volume 16 issues 1 -5 from 2019 are available to read, free of charge. Further, all magazine content will be made freely available one year after its initial publication. RSS and ASA members and subscribers will continue to enjoy exclusive access to the latest magazine content.

Significance is a bi-monthly magazine for anyone interested in statistics and the analysis and interpretation of data. Its aim is to communicate and demonstrate in an entertaining, thought provoking and non-technical way the practical use of statistics in all walks of life, and to show informatively and authoritatively how statistics benefit society. It is published on behalf of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association.