Everydata: The Misinformation Hidden in the Little Data You Consume Every Day
John H. Johnson, Ph.D. and Mike Gluck, 2016
Bibliomotion
240 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781629561011
Summary
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 – equal to the amount of 30 pickup trucks filled with paper—of data every single day, but has no idea how to interpret it correctly.
Everydata: The Misinformation Hidden in the Little Data You Consume Every Day (Bibliomotion Books, April 12, 2016) 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. 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.
Author Bio
John H. Johnson, PhD is President and CEO of Edgeworth Economics, and a professional economist, expert witness, author, and speaker.
In 2009, Dr. Johnson left his role as Vice President of a globally-recognized consultancy to pursue the endeavor that would become Edgeworth Economics, a start-up that reimagined and innovated half-century old industry standards. In these few short years, Edgeworth has grown from six to 80 staff across the US and become one of the world’s premier economic consulting firms. Dr. Johnson is known internationally for his ability to explain highly sophisticated concepts in a simple, straightforward manner and brings this skill to his consulting, writing, and speaking.
At Edgeworth, Dr. Johnson provides consulting and expert testimony for Fortune 100 clients, trade groups, and government agencies. In his litigation work, he guides companies and outside counsel on the appropriate use and interpretation of complex data sets, and has served as expert witness in some of today’s most high-stakes corporate lawsuits.
On the business analytics side, Dr. Johnson helps companies translate their complex internal data sets into strategic, actionable information across a variety of business settings including human resources, finance, marketing, manufacturing, and business intelligence.
Both aspects share the need to understand—and properly apply—large, complex sets of data. He applies this same skill to his writing and speaking, where he helps audiences avoid the most common pitfalls people make when confronted with data, so they can become more confident and discerning consumers of data and make better decisions in their professional and personal lives.
Dr. Johnson is a frequent presenter on economic topics and the use of data, and has also authored numerous papers across his areas of expertise .(From the author.)
Book Reviews
Access to data is a critical driver of knowledge, curiosity, and innovation. But we need to understand how to interpret the data to tap into the wealth of possibility it creates. Johnson and Gluck help to spread that wealth by teaching us how, in everyday language, to confront the deluge of data we receive every day. An invaluable read!
Bradley Horowitz, VP of Photos and Streams at Google
As an obsessive and indiscriminate consumer of everydata in my day-to-day life...and someone whose professional life is entirely devoted to producing meaningful data and coercing it into telling us the truth, I greatly enjoyed this book. Johnson and Gluck take us, with fun and verve, through the essential steps to become a sophisticated consumer of the data that surrounds us. Don’t be fooled by the cheerful tone and the lack of grandiose claims: if they succeed in educating us (and I am sure they will), the result will be more discerning consumers, better stewards of their own health, and, most importantly, a better democracy.
Esther Duflo, Professor of Economics at MIT, and co-founder and co-director at J-PAL
In today’s data-saturated world, knowing how to use and interpret data is a true strategic advantage. In Everydata, Johnson and Gluck walk us through how we should and shouldn’t use data to make decisions in our lives. They do it simply, clearly, and with unexpected humor! I can’t imagine a more relevant read.
Paul Walsh, VP of Weather Analytics and Meteorologist at The Weather Company
The authors of Everydata have masterfully distilled an applied statistics textbook into a ‘best of,’ highlighting the most relevant and valuable parts we all need to navigate today's world of big data. I cannot recommend it enough.
Joshua D. Wright, Professor of Law and Economics at George Mason University and former Commissioner of The Federal Trade Commission
This book educates readers on how to navigate the increasingly dense information environment.... [Johnson and Gluck] hit key points on the importance of information literacy today.
Publishers Weekly
Discussion Questions
1. What’s the first step to consuming data better?
2. What is “Everydata”?
3. How does Everydata have an impact on our daily lives?
4. What are some specific data traps that people should be on the lookout for?
5. What are the main differences between Big Data and Small Data, and how we use them?
(Questions courtesy of author.)