Calling B******t
The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
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4.7 • 17 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Bullshit isn’t what it used to be. Now, two science professors give us the tools to dismantle misinformation and think clearly in a world of fake news and bad data.
“A modern classic . . . a straight-talking survival guide to the mean streets of a dying democracy and a global pandemic.”—Wired
Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news abound and it’s increasingly difficult to know what’s true. Our media environment has become hyperpartisan. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates b******t to high art. We are fairly well equipped to spot the sort of old-school bullshit that is based in fancy rhetoric and weasel words, but most of us don’t feel qualified to challenge the avalanche of new-school b******t presented in the language of math, science, or statistics. In Calling B******t, Professors Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West give us a set of powerful tools to cut through the most intimidating data.
You don’t need a lot of technical expertise to call out problems with data. Are the numbers or results too good or too dramatic to be true? Is the claim comparing like with like? Is it confirming your personal bias? Drawing on a deep well of expertise in statistics and computational biology, Bergstrom and West exuberantly unpack examples of selection bias and muddled data visualization, distinguish between correlation and causation, and examine the susceptibility of science to modern bullshit.
We have always needed people who call b******t when necessary, whether within a circle of friends, a community of scholars, or the citizenry of a nation. Now that b******t has evolved, we need to relearn the art of skepticism.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Evolutionary biologist Bergstrom (coauthor, Evolution) and data scientist West deliver an informative and energetic examination of the ways in which data can be misused to influence audiences. Bergstrom and West discuss familiar concepts such as confirmation bias, false equivalencies, and selection bias, and explore how bar charts, line graphs, and other visual representations of data provide fertile ground for manipulation. They break down the bad information behind a dizzying number of false or misleading claims published in advertisements, press releases, news articles, and scientific research (for example, that the third Monday in January is "the saddest day of the year"), and explain how poorly or carelessly designed algorithms can result in racial and gender discrimination. In addition to providing tools to ferret out misinformation, including lists of fact-checking websites and instructions on how to "corroborate and triangulate" suspicious claims, Bergstrom and West highlight the importance of "calling bullshit" when confronted with it (they do advise readers not to assume bad faith sometimes people just make mistakes) and outline how to do so persuasively. Though dense and intellectually rigorous, the book's brisk pace and jocular tone provide relief. The authors do a great job of equipping readers to better make sense of the vast amounts of data at their fingertips.
