Waubonsee Community College

Everydata, the misinformation hidden in the little data you consume every day : why your gas tank isn't empty, you're not better than average, and Africa is bigger than you think, John H. Johnson, and Mike Gluck

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Everydata

bibliography

914219247

John H. Johnson, and Mike Gluck

the misinformation hidden in the little data you consume every day : why your gas tank isn't empty, you're not better than average, and Africa is bigger than you think

"While everyone is talking about "big data," the truth is that understanding the "little data" (stock reports, newspaper headlines, weather forecasts, etc.) is what will help 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 correctly interpret all of the small bytes of data we consume in a day. Readers will become effective, skeptical consumers of everyday data. Everydata is filled with countless examples of people misinterpreting data - oftentimes with catastrophic results: Millions of women avoid caffeine during pregnancy because they interpret correlation as causation The initial launch of HealthCare.gov failed in part because key decision-makers couldn't observe all of the data A baby food company was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for cherry picking data Attorneys faced a $1 billion jury verdict because of outlier data The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded because the engineers were dealing with a limited sample set Hedge fund companies claim they can make smarter predictions - but the market data says otherwise Each chapter of Everydata 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. Readers will get the answer to the question - "Now what?"--Along with concrete ways they can use this information to immediately start making smarter decisions, today and every day."--, Provided by publisher"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 correctly interpret all of the small bytes of data we consume in a day"--, Provided by publisher"Little data"--Stock reports, newspaper headlines, weather forecasts, etc.-- is what will help 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. Johnson and Gluck explain how to correctly interpret all of the small bytes of data we consume in a day

Data, data everywhere: an introduction to everydata -- The Challenger challenge: how sampling can affect results -- Red state blues: averages and aggregates-- a closer look at summary statistics -- Are you smarter than an iPhone-using, radiohead-loving Republican?: understanding correlation versus causation -- In statistics we trust: is what you're seeing true? -- Shrinking Africa: misrepresentation and misinterpretation -- Spoonfed data: when cherry picking goes bananas -- Predicting disaster: forecasting the future -- It's a jungle out there: putting it all together