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A review by jdintr
Dataclysm: Who We Are by Christian Rudder
4.0
Working at an online dating site like OkCupid, one might expect Christian Rudder to be something of a "love guru." He's a guru, all right, but it's in his crunching of the data behind his site and others that he reveals fascinating insights into the factors that go into those most subjective of human activities: love and attraction.
Reading this book, I would estimate that I had an "ah ha" moment about every five pages. Do you want to know if you & your spouse are compatible? Check the overlap on your Facebook friends. Which races of people are attractive across a broad spectrum and which ones aren't? How many people in America actually are homosexual or bisexual? The data reveal fascinating answers that couldn't be collected any other way.
And that's not the most prosaic of the information that Rudder reveals. What words are Asian men (or women) most/least likely to use to describe themselves? (This was probably the most hilarious section of the book.) Do women with lower attractiveness ratings really get fewer messages from suitors?
OkCupid isn't Rudder's only source of data. He includes statistics from Google Books, Twitter, and other online dating sites. He's after a peek behind the curtain of attractiveness that we present to the world. What he finds there isn't scary or embarrassing, it's...well, normal.
Despite being a number-cruncher, Rudder also has a deft hand with a phrase or an observation. On language, he writes, "Realize this: if anything, today is writing's Cambrian explosion, not its mass extinction."
This is a well-written book, but what you'll appreciate most is how well thought out it is. Whether you're single, married, or swearing off relationships forever, Rudder's "Dataclysm" has insights you will enjoy.
Reading this book, I would estimate that I had an "ah ha" moment about every five pages. Do you want to know if you & your spouse are compatible? Check the overlap on your Facebook friends. Which races of people are attractive across a broad spectrum and which ones aren't? How many people in America actually are homosexual or bisexual? The data reveal fascinating answers that couldn't be collected any other way.
And that's not the most prosaic of the information that Rudder reveals. What words are Asian men (or women) most/least likely to use to describe themselves? (This was probably the most hilarious section of the book.) Do women with lower attractiveness ratings really get fewer messages from suitors?
OkCupid isn't Rudder's only source of data. He includes statistics from Google Books, Twitter, and other online dating sites. He's after a peek behind the curtain of attractiveness that we present to the world. What he finds there isn't scary or embarrassing, it's...well, normal.
Despite being a number-cruncher, Rudder also has a deft hand with a phrase or an observation. On language, he writes, "Realize this: if anything, today is writing's Cambrian explosion, not its mass extinction."
This is a well-written book, but what you'll appreciate most is how well thought out it is. Whether you're single, married, or swearing off relationships forever, Rudder's "Dataclysm" has insights you will enjoy.