A review by marycel
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

3.0

There is some fascinating (and disturbing) information in this book about how aggregate Google search data can be used to extrapolate evidence for all kinds of theories and concepts, though Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's assumptions are sometimes not supported as well as I would have liked. I found the data compelling and the possibilities both impressive and worrying, but the author himself was not always likable to me, as he made a lot of little jokes to the side that didn't always land. I can see his clear admiration for Freakonomics in this book, but he doesn't come across as personable as they do, and sometimes reads more like a fanboy shill of Google. Still, in terms of what I learned and how it might shape our understanding of events, it's a worthwhile read.