Reviews
"Studying human behavior is a little like exploring a jungle: it's messy, hard, and easy to lose your way. But Christian Rudder is a consummate guide, revealing essential truths about who we are. Big Data has never been so fun." --Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational " Dataclysm is a book full of juicy secrets--secrets about who we love, what we crave, why we like, and how we change each other's minds and lives, often without even knowing it. Christian Rudder makes this mathematical narrative of our culture fun to read and even more fun to discuss: You will find yourself sharing these intriguing data-driven revelations with everyone you know." --Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken "In the first few pages of Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses massive amounts of actual behavioral data to prove what I always believed in my heart: Belle and Sebastian is the whitest band ever. It only gets better from there." --Aziz Ansari "It's unheard of for a book about Big Data to read like a guilty pleasure, but Dataclysm does. It's a fascinating, almost voyeuristic look at who we really are and what we really want." --Steven Strogatz, Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, author of The Joy of x "Smart, revealing, and sometimes sobering, Dataclysm affirms what we probably suspected in our darker moments: When it comes to romance, what we say we want isn't what will actually make us happy. Christian Rudder has tapped the tremendous wealth of data that the Internet offers to tease out thoughts on topics like beauty and race that most of us wouldn't cop to publicly. It's a riveting read, and Rudder is an affable and humane guide." --Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. "Christian Rudder has written a funny and profound book about important issues. Race, love, sex--you name it. Are we the sum of the data we produce? Read this book immediately and see if you can answer the question." --Errol Morris "Big Data can be like a 3D movie without 3D glasses--you know there's a lot going on but you're mainly just disoriented. We should feel fortunate to have an interpreter as skilled (and funny) as Christian Rudder. Dataclysm is filled with insights that boil down Big Data into byte-sized revelations." --Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of Happy Money "With a zest for both the profound and the wacky, Rudder demonstrates how the information we provide individually tells a vast deal about who we are collectively. A visually engaging read and a fascinating topic make this a great choice not just for followers of Nate Silver and fans of infographics, but for just about anyone who, by participating in online activity, has contributed to the data set." --Library Journal "Demographers, entrepreneurs, students of history and sociology, and ordinary citizens alike will find plenty of provocations and, yes, much data in Rudder's well-argued, revealing pages." --Kirkus Reviews, "Studying human behavior is a little like exploring a jungle: it's messy, hard, and easy to lose your way. But Christian Rudder is a consummate guide, revealing essential truths about who we are. Big Data has never been so fun." --Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational " Dataclysm is a book full of juicy secrets--secrets about who we love, what we crave, why we like, and how we change each other's minds and lives, often without even knowing it. Christian Rudder makes this mathematical narrative of our culture fun to read and even more fun to discuss: You will find yourself sharing these intriguing data-driven revelations with everyone you know." --Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken "In the first few pages of Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses massive amounts of actual behavioral data to prove what I always believed in my heart: Belle and Sebastian is the whitest band ever. It only gets better from there." --Aziz Ansari "It's unheard of for a book about Big Data to read like a guilty pleasure, but Dataclysm does. It's a fascinating, almost voyeuristic look at who we really are and what we really want." --Steven Strogatz, Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, author of The Joy of x "Smart, revealing, and sometimes sobering, Dataclysm affirms what we probably suspected in our darker moments: When it comes to romance, what we say we want isn't what will actually make us happy. Christian Rudder has tapped the tremendous wealth of data that the Internet offers to tease out thoughts on topics like beauty and race that most of us wouldn't cop to publicly. It's a riveting read, and Rudder is an affable and humane guide." --Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. "Christian Rudder has written a funny and profound book about important issues. Race, love, sex--you name it. Are we the sum of the data we produce? Read this book immediately and see if you can answer the question." --Errol Morris "Big Data can be like a 3D movie without 3D glasses--you know there's a lot going on but you're mainly just disoriented. We should feel fortunate to have an interpreter as skilled (and funny) as Christian Rudder. Dataclysm is filled with insights that boil down Big Data into byte-sized revelations." --Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of Happy Money "With a zest for both the profound and the wacky, Rudder demonstrates how the information we provide individually tells a vast deal about who we are collectively. A visually engaging read and a fascinating topic make this a great choice not just for followers of Nate Silver and fans of infographics, but for just about anyone who, by participating in online activity, has contributed to the data set." --Library Journal Demographers, entrepreneurs, students of history and sociology, and ordinary citizens alike will find plenty of provocations and, yes, much data in Rudder's well-argued, revealing pages." --Kirkus Reviews, "Studying human behavior is a little like exploring a jungle: it's messy, hard, and easy to lose your way. But Christian Rudder is a consummate guide, revealing essential truths about who we are. Big Data has never been so fun." --Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational " Dataclysm is a book full of juicy secrets--secrets about who we love, what we crave, why we like, and how we change each other's minds and lives, often without even knowing it. Christian Rudder makes this mathematical narrative of our culture fun to read and even more fun to discuss: You will find yourself sharing these intriguing data-driven revelations with everyone you know." --Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken "In the first few pages of Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses massive amounts of actual behavioral data to prove what I always believed in my heart: Belle and Sebastian is the whitest band ever. It only gets better from there." --Aziz Ansari "It's unheard of for a book about Big Data to read like a guilty pleasure, but Dataclysm does. It's a fascinating, almost voyeuristic look at who we really are and what we really want." --Steven Strogatz, Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, author of The Joy of x "Smart, revealing, and sometimes sobering, Dataclysm affirms what we probably suspected in our darker moments: When it comes to romance, what we say we want isn't what will actually make us happy. Christian Rudder has tapped the tremendous wealth of data that the Internet offers to tease out thoughts on topics like beauty and race that most of us wouldn't cop to publicly. It's a riveting read, and Rudder is an affable and humane guide." --Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. "Christian Rudder has written an absurd, funny, and profound book about important issues. Race, love, sex--you name it. Are we the sum of the data we produce? Read this book immediately and see if you can answer the question." --Errol Morris "Big Data can be like a 3D movie without 3D glasses--you know there's a lot going on but you're mainly just disoriented. We should feel fortunate to have an interpreter as skilled (and funny) as Christian Rudder. Dataclysm is filled with insights that boil down Big Data into byte-sized revelations." --Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of Happy Money, "Studying human behavior is a little like exploring a jungle: it's messy, hard, and easy to lose your way. But Christian Rudder is a consummate guide, revealing essential truths about who we are. Big Data has never been so fun." --Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational " Dataclysm is a book full of juicy secrets--secrets about who we love, what we crave, why we like, and how we change each other's minds and lives, often without even knowing it. Christian Rudder makes this mathematical narrative of our culture fun to read and even more fun to discuss: You will find yourself sharing these intriguing data-driven revelations with everyone you know." --Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken "In the first few pages of Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses massive amounts of actual behavioral data to prove what I always believed in my heart: Belle and Sebastian is the whitest band ever. It only gets better from there." --Aziz Ansari "It's unheard of for a book about Big Data to read like a guilty pleasure, but Dataclysm does. It's a fascinating, almost voyeuristic look at who we really are and what we really want." --Steven Strogatz, Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics, Cornell University, author of The Joy of x "Smart, revealing, and sometimes sobering, Dataclysm affirms what we probably suspected in our darker moments: When it comes to romance, what we say we want isn't what will actually make us happy. Christian Rudder has tapped the tremendous wealth of data that the Internet offers to tease out thoughts on topics like beauty and race that most of us wouldn't cop to publicly. It's a riveting read, and Rudder is an affable and humane guide." --Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. "Christian Rudder has written a funny and profound book about important issues. Race, love, sex--you name it. Are we the sum of the data we produce? Read this book immediately and see if you can answer the question." --Errol Morris "Big Data can be like a 3D movie without 3D glasses--you know there's a lot going on but you're mainly just disoriented. We should feel fortunate to have an interpreter as skilled (and funny) as Christian Rudder. Dataclysm is filled with insights that boil down Big Data into byte-sized revelations." --Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of Happy Money "Demographers, entrepreneurs, students of history and sociology, and ordinary citizens alike will find plenty of provocations and, yes, much data in Rudder's well-argued, revealing pages." --Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
A New York Times Bestseller An audacious, irreverent investigation of human behavior and a first look at a revolution in the making Our personal data has been used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don t need. In Dataclysm , Christian Rudder uses it to show us who we truly are. For centuries, we ve relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today, a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers, and without filters. Data scientists have become the new demographers. In this daring and original book, Rudder explains how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person s sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more interview requests; and why you must have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America s most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter. He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publicly. What is the least Asian thing you can say? Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey? What do black women think about Simon & Garfunkel? (Hint: they don t think about Simon & Garfunkel.) Rudder also traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible. Visually arresting and full of wit and insight, Dataclysm is a new way of seeing ourselves a brilliant alchemy, in which math is made human and numbers become the narrative of our time.", A New York Times Bestseller An audacious, irreverent investigation of human behavior--and a first look at a revolution in the making Our personal data has been used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don't need. In Dataclysm , Christian Rudder uses it to show us who we truly are. For centuries, we've relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today, a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers, and without filters. Data scientists have become the new demographers. In this daring and original book, Rudder explains how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person's sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more interview requests; and why you must have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America's most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter. He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publicly. What is the least Asian thing you can say? Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey? What do black women think about Simon & Garfunkel? (Hint: they don't think about Simon & Garfunkel.) Rudder also traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible. Visually arresting and full of wit and insight, Dataclysm is a new way of seeing ourselves--a brilliant alchemy, in which math is made human and numbers become the narrative of our time.
