Carl T. Bergstrom
Auteur de Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
A propos de l'auteur
Crédit image: Photo
Œuvres de Carl T. Bergstrom
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Nom canonique
- Bergstrom, Carl T.
- Nom légal
- Bergstrom, Carl Theodore
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- USA
- Professions
- biologist
scientist
professor - Organisations
- University of Washington
- Agent
- Max Brockman
Membres
Critiques
Listes
Book wishlist (1)
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 2
- Membres
- 394
- Popularité
- #61,534
- Évaluation
- 3.9
- Critiques
- 11
- ISBN
- 20
- Langues
- 1
True, many of the book’s premises have been explored before. For example, a 4-minute video I’ve been using in my classes for years hits on some of the exact strategies for guarding against misinformation and disinformation. Still, Bergstrom and West serve up some excellent examples that vividly illustrate how data can be manipulated to fool unsuspecting audiences. The authors refer to a headline that screamed “Airport Security Trays Carry More Germs Than Toilets.” This fact was true, but the study only looked at respiratory viruses, the kind often transmitted through droplets on people’s hands when they cough or sneeze. Most of us don’t sneeze onto toilet seats or caress the seats with our hands.
The book offers timely perspectives on artificial intelligence as it highlights the problem of algorithm bias. “When we train machines to make decisions based on data that arise in a biased society, the machines learn and perpetuate those same biases,” write the authors.
“Calling Bullshit” also explores the dangers of confirmation bias (our tendency to notice, believe, and share information that is consistent with our preexisting beliefs) and illusory truth effect (The more often we see something, the more likely we are to believe it). Some reviewers who have described the book as “dense” aren’t spreading fake news. Had the authors spent a bit less time on statistics-focused examples and broadened their focus to include misinformation that had nothing to do with math or science, “Calling Bullshit” would have been more accessible to the general reader. Then again, the subtitle foreshadows the fact that the authors are focusing on our “data-driven world.”… (plus d'informations)