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662 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
662 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
Despite the cynical Dr. House-style title, this book feels like an exhilarating first step in a brave new world of social science via Big Data, particularly Google search data. I'd never considered it that way, but as Stephens-Davidowitz points out, Google searches are a unique window into people's thoughts and opinions that can surpass anonymous survey data because people actually have an incentive to tell the truth: information about the topic they're searching. For example, if a researcher asks you what kind of porn you like, you might say something different than what you actually type into Google when you want to look at porn.
Google search data on sexuality is one topic covered in the book; there are lots of other examples of Big Data (including social media and other data sources) providing surprising or counterintuitive answers to questions in age-old social science topics, including: the racism map of the United States, abortion frequency, child abuse during a recession, loan defaulting, and more. Sometimes it's frustrating when a topic is almost just teased - as soon as you learn about it, you want to learn more, but more often than not, Stephens-Davidowitz moves onto another topic. I think that's the point, though. The book is not meant to be an in-depth study, but more of a taster and an invitation: look at what we're starting to do with data! What else can we do? What are you curious about?
This is a great example of a pop social science book that's written straightforwardly without jargon, but not too fluffy - still very dense with ideas and information.
Google search data on sexuality is one topic covered in the book; there are lots of other examples of Big Data (including social media and other data sources) providing surprising or counterintuitive answers to questions in age-old social science topics, including: the racism map of the United States, abortion frequency, child abuse during a recession, loan defaulting, and more. Sometimes it's frustrating when a topic is almost just teased - as soon as you learn about it, you want to learn more, but more often than not, Stephens-Davidowitz moves onto another topic. I think that's the point, though. The book is not meant to be an in-depth study, but more of a taster and an invitation: look at what we're starting to do with data! What else can we do? What are you curious about?
This is a great example of a pop social science book that's written straightforwardly without jargon, but not too fluffy - still very dense with ideas and information.
Before reading this book, I was very intimidated by statistics and any number-related topic, even if we all know that these subjects are essential to understand our world. However, Stephens Davidowitz's text succeeded in making me understand how statistics, and in particular the emerging Big Data analytical tool, is fundamental to understand the world we live in. What i understood is that Big Data are not only useful for economics and statistics, but most importantly to gaining a better understanding of human dynamics, politics, and social sciences in general.
As a matter of fact, the enormous pool of data about human behaviour available, for example, in the form of Google searches, gives us the possibility to understand what people really think: Big Data can function as a "truth serum", as it uncovers the instinctive and subconscious (but also conscious) psychological factors and desires that determine our actions in our everyday life. This is due to the fact that we tend to lie continuously, not only to other peoplefor the purpose of deceiving or accomodating, but also to ourselves, because we want to feel better about our qualities. However, we tend to search information on Google according to our immediate instincts and necesssities, thus uncovering the truth behind the lies that we tell ourselves.
Thus, the book's claim that Big Data can be useful to understand better Humanities and social sciences is very fascinating. For instance, it is shown how Freud's Oedipus theory is partly confirmed by YouPorn searches, thus legitimizing the value of social sciences. Big Data can help us understand the complex domain of sexuality, for instance by addressing questions of How do our sexual tendencies originate, are there gender differences in sexual practice preferences?
Big Data can be used to understand if democracies are healthy, how people react to politicians' speeches and the correlation between specific events and racial discrimination. It can help us to understand if talents are innate, why do some people like football and other don't. Why does a pandemic disease spread in specific world region.
However, the book strength also lies in reminding the ethical issues behind Big Data: whereas social scientists and humanists may use it to advance our understanding of human nature, thus helping us to advance towards prosperity and equality, big tech firms and financial corporations might as well - as they are already doing - use this giant pool of data to maximize their profits, to the expense of consumers' rights and individual freedoms.
As a matter of fact, the enormous pool of data about human behaviour available, for example, in the form of Google searches, gives us the possibility to understand what people really think: Big Data can function as a "truth serum", as it uncovers the instinctive and subconscious (but also conscious) psychological factors and desires that determine our actions in our everyday life. This is due to the fact that we tend to lie continuously, not only to other peoplefor the purpose of deceiving or accomodating, but also to ourselves, because we want to feel better about our qualities. However, we tend to search information on Google according to our immediate instincts and necesssities, thus uncovering the truth behind the lies that we tell ourselves.
Thus, the book's claim that Big Data can be useful to understand better Humanities and social sciences is very fascinating. For instance, it is shown how Freud's Oedipus theory is partly confirmed by YouPorn searches, thus legitimizing the value of social sciences. Big Data can help us understand the complex domain of sexuality, for instance by addressing questions of How do our sexual tendencies originate, are there gender differences in sexual practice preferences?
Big Data can be used to understand if democracies are healthy, how people react to politicians' speeches and the correlation between specific events and racial discrimination. It can help us to understand if talents are innate, why do some people like football and other don't. Why does a pandemic disease spread in specific world region.
However, the book strength also lies in reminding the ethical issues behind Big Data: whereas social scientists and humanists may use it to advance our understanding of human nature, thus helping us to advance towards prosperity and equality, big tech firms and financial corporations might as well - as they are already doing - use this giant pool of data to maximize their profits, to the expense of consumers' rights and individual freedoms.
Interesting nonfiction read. It harps on a few things and a good chunk of the book is dedicated to confirming things that pretty much everyone already knows, but there are some interesting insights and you can definitely learn a thing or two about how big data gives big companies (Google, Facebook) so much insight into and control over our lives. Fascinating, but also kind of scary.
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I truly enjoyed this delve into Big Data - it is fascinating to me how much we can really discover by pulling data from the thousand and one places that we know willingly add that data. From Google searches, to your porn hub searches, to the lies that we tell each other on social media, this book reveals some secrets that I was not prepared for.
informative
fast-paced
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced