Complete nonsense! Skepticism in the world of big data. Karl Bergstrom, Jevin West

The book on how to recognize lies, misinformation, fake news and do not fall on the bait of beautiful graphs, convincing statistics and science -like terms.

, unlike direct lies, it sounds very believable. This is information about which it is impossible to unambiguously say that it is false, but it definitely represents reality in a distorted form. Nonsense can be malicious (for example, fake-nuis), but often simply becomes the result of errors or inattention. Unfortunately, in the era of social networks, nonsense has the ability to quickly spread, which can lead to the most unpredictable consequences. Nonsense uses the language of science and statistics, creating the impression of complexity and at the same time accuracy. The science of attention weakens our attentiveness, and very few are ready to really understand what is reflected on a complex diagram or graphics on a respected site.

from this book you will learn:

- How disinformation spreads , inaccurate information and fake news on social networks, why people believe them and what three basic approaches to protection from inaccurate information online;

-how to critically evaluate causal relationships, identify false correlations and notice nonsense, in which one concept is replaced by another;

-is it always worth believing numbers and why you need to beware of the "zombie-statistical" (numbers that stubbornly quote outside the context are hopelessly outdated or originally invented, but they are cited so often that they do not rest with the world);

- as a sample error can become the main source of confusion and misunderstanding in the analysis of information.

after reading this book, you will understand that it is not necessary to be An expert in statistics, economy metrics, you do not need to be able to analyze the data and do not spend a lot of efforts and break deep into sources in order to bring the deceiver into clean water - sometimes there is enough critical thinking and ordinary logic.

for whom this book :

for those who want to protect themselves from inaccurate information and substitution of concepts.

for everyone who would like to develop critical thinking, learn to see the truth and distinguish it from lies.

from the authors:

Our world swept nonsense*, and we drown in it.

, most people believe that they recognize it quite well. Perhaps they are right when it comes to Red Bayrunism and the frank brochne, that is, about what we would call old -fashioned nonsense. However, it turns out to be especially difficult to shake the positions of a newfangled nonsense, because few of us consider ourselves an expert so much as to challenge the information given in the form of numbers and graphs. This is what the Brekhuna of the new wave relies on. To fight back them, you need to understand how and when to question their statements.

new forms of information technology changed the methods of communication both in science and in society. With the expansion of access to technology, the flow of information increased. We hope that this book will help you to survive the onslaught of a nonsense and learn how to separate the facts from fiction.

*In the original Bullshit, the book will be translated just like that.