Everydata

The Misinformation Hidden in the Little Data You Consume Every Day

De: John H. Johnson PhD, Mike Gluck

Narrado por: John H. Johnson PhD

While everyone is talking about "big data", the truth is that understanding the "little data" - the stats that underlie newspaper headlines, stock reports, weather forecasts, and so on - is what helps you make smarter decisions at work, at home, and in every aspect of your life. The average person consumes approximately 30 gigabytes of data every single day but has no idea how to interpret it correctly. Everydata explains, through the eyes of an expert economist and statistician, how to decipher the small bytes of data we consume in a day.

Everydata is filled with countless examples of people misconstruing data - with results that range from merely frustrating to catastrophic:

• The space shuttle Challenger exploded in part because the engineers were reviewing a limited sample set.
• Millions of women avoid caffeine during pregnancy because they interpret correlation as causation.
• Attorneys faced a $1 billion jury verdict because of outlier data.

Each chapter highlights one commonly misunderstood data concept using both real-world and hypothetical examples from a wide range of topics, including business, politics, advertising, law, engineering, retail, parenting, and more. You'll find the answer to the question, "Now what?" along with concrete ways you can use this information to immediately start making smarter decisions today.

©2016 John H. Johnson and Mike Gluck (P)2016 Gildan Media, LLC

Good to become familiar with statistical concepts

The book is more about statistical concepts than making use of daily digital data. An example used in the book is the explosion of the Challenger, which happened in 1986. That's not a current event... has nothing to do with "big data" or "little data." It explained how the use of selective data led to the unanticipated disaster. The book is useful for readers who aren't familiar with statistics and want to learn. One story that fits with the title of the book is about Zillow, the website that gives "Zestimate" for the value of a house. People like to look at one number and think that is the answer. But they don't realize that an estimate is just that -- an estimate, which also includes a margin of error. That means some Zestimate will be on target, some above, and some below the actual value of the house.

Should be required reading in high school

My high school math teacher told us "figures never lie, but liars often figure" Reading EVERYDATA was an enjoyable way to learn how to make sense out of all the information presented to us each day. The authors gave real world and fun examples that make you think: Why is it true that is a southern Florida county most people are born Hispanic but die Jewish?

pretty useful

it's definitely important to consider the information in this book in daily life. I was a little bored at first but found the info worth it.