Don't trust your gut : using data to get what you really want in life

Don't trust your gut Using data to get what you really want in life

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Book - 2022

You know less than you think you do - about what makes you healthy, what makes you rich, who you should date, where you should live. You know less than you think you do about how to raise your children, or, for that matter, whether you should have children in the first place. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz showed how big data is revolutionising the social sciences. He shows how big data can help us find answers to some of the most important questions we face - and how these answers can radically improve our lives.

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Subjects
Decision making > Social aspects.
Data mining > Social aspects.
Big data > Social aspects.
Published
New York, NY : Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
307 pages : illustrations, charts ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-293) and index.
ISBN
9780062880918
  • Introduction: Self-Help for Data Geeks
  • Chapter 1. The Al Marriage
  • Chapter 2. Location. Location. Location. The Secret to Great Parenting
  • Chapter 3. The Likeliest Path to Athletic Greatness If You Have No Talent
  • Chapter 4. Who Is Secretly Rich in America?
  • Chapter 5. The Long, Boring Slog of Success
  • Chapter 6. Hacking Luck to Your Advantage
  • Chapter 7. Makeover: Nerd Edition
  • Chapter 8. The Life-Changing Magic of Leaving Your Couch
  • Chapter 9. The Misery-Inducing Traps of Modern Life
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Appendix
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"Big Data can help you" make better decisions, suggests New York Times op-ed contributor Stephens-Davidowitz (Everybody Lies) in this snappy guide. Taking a "Moneyball for your life" approach to self-help, the author uses data set analysis to advise on such areas as professional success, athletic talent, happiness, and love. On choosing a partner, the author examines data from dating sites to reveal that good partners tend to be happy, conscientious, and possess a growth mindset, but are not necessarily conventionally attractive. Research on educational and economic outcomes show that the most consequential decision most parents can make about their children's future is where to raise them, the author posits, and IRS tax data indicates that those looking for financial success should aspire to run such competition-limited businesses as car dealerships. The author's exploration of a massive happiness study reveals a mix of the expected (people like sex) and the surprising (people don't enjoy computer games much). Stephens-Davidowitz maintains a breezy, conversational style that lends a lighthearted touch to all the wonkery. Whether confirming or debunking conventional wisdom, the smooth presentation and quantitative detail bring a welcome analytical rigor to the self-help genre. (May)

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