Take a photo of a barcode or cover
659 reviews for:
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
3.82 AVERAGE
659 reviews for:
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
3.82 AVERAGE
Author described his own book as “Freakonomics, but with big data”. Some good ideas, frameworks, techniques for mining big data, with mildly interesting data insight stories. Fact nuggets were a little flat in the telling, so I think it’s just writing style.
If you liked [b:Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything|1202|Freakonomics A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, #1)|Steven D. Levitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327909092s/1202.jpg|5397], you'll find this book to also be a fun read. Davidowitz uses interesting social examples (sex, racism) to show us how big data can unearth truths about things that many people lie about. He makes a compelling case that, at times, big data can get at the truth in a way that surveys cannot. The way I'm explaining it sounds a little dull, but Davidowitz is actually quite funny and very insightful. The only part I wasn't wild about was when he delved into the ethics of using the data; he's not an ethicist, and I'm not sure I agreed with his observations . . .but regardless, he made me think! Definitely worth reading, and if you have any interest at all in the social sciences/economics, I'd highly recommend it as a fast, fun, and intriguing book to pick up.
Great book. It’s kinda scary to think that so much of our lives are tracked and noted on the internet. I love that you can tell what people are really worried about with Google searches. I also love that this is becoming a science now. Not just an out there idea that some think is false or guesses.
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Data dethrones conjecture in this adventuresome look at human behavior
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Incest, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book appealed to my data-loving Econ geek side. Although I don’t agree with all the methods and conclusions, it is very interesting to me how new data sources can be analyzed to learn unexpected things.
I don't know if this was revolutionary or not, it seemed like a rehash of many books going around - what we can learn from big data. Some of it was random cool facts. Some of it invites big questions for our future as a species. I think big data might be the next major revolution, in the lines of the printing press, radio, television, and the internet. It's already playing a big part in business decisions, policy making, medical practice, sports, and many other fields, but most of us are unaware of it. I think Everybody Lies is a good introduction and overview of the topic, but I do think the author places too much trust in people's honesty with Google searches. He sounds like he thinks he's found the golden egg of psychology, but it's naive to think that people even know themselves well enough or act consistently enough when making online searches, such that we could understand the core of the human psyche. For now, though, big data can squeeze billions of extra dollars out of economies, and for that alone it will never go away.
This is one of the best non-fiction books I've read in a long time. The data and conclusions from the data is just fascinating. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. Most highly recommended!
A good (and funny) overview of where so much data can be of use. For example, data can allow social sciences to become scientific ;-)
Good explanation of experiments that can prove causality (randomized experiments) and why many dimensions and no clear reasoning can find nonsensical correlations.
My advice: read it until the conclusion. ;-)
Good explanation of experiments that can prove causality (randomized experiments) and why many dimensions and no clear reasoning can find nonsensical correlations.
My advice: read it until the conclusion. ;-)