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Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science

by Gary Smith (Author)
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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There is no doubt science is currently suffering from a credibility crisis.

This thought-provoking book argues that, ironically, science's credibility is being undermined by tools created by scientists themselves. Scientific disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories are rife because of the internet that science created, the scientific demand for empirical evidence and statistical significance leads to data torturing and confirmation bias, and data mining is fuelled by the technological advances in Big Data and the development of ever-increasingly powerful computers.

Using a wide range of entertaining examples, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society's growing distrust of science, and ultimately provides constructive suggestions for restoring the credibility of the scientific community.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0192868454
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0192868459
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    March 23, 2023
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    9.46 x 0.97 x 6.49 inches
  7. Print length
    336 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gary Smith has done it again. Distrust is a wild ride that derails the Big Data hype train with force, style, and above all sardonic humour. Smith is a master of illustrating by example-examples that are fresh, unexpected, at times shocking, and at times hilarious. Come along on Smith's tour of statistical snake-oil and you'll never look at AI or data science the same way again." -- Carl T. Bergstrom, Professor of Biology, University of Washington. Author of Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Digital World

"Any fan of Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World will love this book. Like Sagan, Smith discusses the challenges to human progress that result from a lack of critical thinking skills, and he does so with a Sagan-esque keen eye and eloquent voice. Smith also makes clear how the threats to sound judgment and effective decisions are more formidable than those of Sagan's day, as faulty thinking is now aided and abetted by an internet-fuelled distrust of science, viral misinformation, and venomous conspiracy theories. The wisdom in this book is desperately needed." -- Tom Gilovich, Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology, Cornell University. Author of The Wisest One in the Room

"It turns out that, unlike the mythical hero, AI has two Achilles' heels. Not only are the technologies not intelligent, more perniciously, neither are too much of the statistics and data use on which AI and big data rely. Gary Smith provides a brilliantly executed counter against pseudo-science and the accumulating garbage we misleadingly call information, including timely and important warnings and ways forward for policy-makers, practitioners, academics, and citizens alike." -- Leslie Willcocks, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science

"An immensely readable look at why we need science more than ever, but also why and how science needs to clean up its act. Recommended for anyone who occasionally wonders whether that 'outspoken' family member on Facebook might just have a point." -- Nick Brown, PhD, scientific integrity researcher

"Smith marvellously illustrates the evolution of disinformation. He richly demonstrates how blind faith in technology enables more misrepresentations of the truth. Distrust articulates a humbling view of how we should think critically about new findings from hyped technology trends." -- Karl Meyer, Managing Director, Digital Alpha Advisors LLC and former Partner at Kleiner Perkins

"The lessons of Distrust are very much needed." -- Washington Post

"Distrust is a veritable page-turner, and I finished it in a few sittings. On a higher level, it is a call for common sense, for scepticism, for methodological rigour and for epistemic modesty. I suspect most scientists will love it." -- Nature

"Meta Malcolm Gladwell fans will likely enjoy." -- Library Journal

"The book is great fun. It's lovely to watch Smith demolish the fraud in every medium." -- The Straight Dope

"Using a wide range of entertaining examples, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society's growing distrust of science, and ultimately provides constructive suggestions for restoring the credibility of the scientific community." -- Campaign for the American Reader

"Smith's Distrust is a strikingly readable exploration of several interrelated threats to the credibility of science...The book can serve as both a guide to helping readers better spot bogus scientifc claims and a warning as to the individual and institutional failings that threaten the credibility of science." -- Keith Raymond Harris, Metascience

"Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science is a highly recommended book for anyone interested about current, and future, issues related to what science is and how it is done." -- K. Kampourakis, Science & Education

About the Author

Gary Smith, Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics, Pomona College

Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University and was an Assistant Professor there for seven years. He has won two teaching awards and written (or co-authored) more than 100 academic papers and 15 books. He is the author of The AI Delusion (OUP 2018) and co-author with Jay Cordes of The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science (OUP 2019), which won the 2020 Prose Award for Excellence in Popular Science & Popular Mathematics by the Association of American Publishers.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (March 23, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0192868454
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192868459
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.62 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.46 x 0.97 x 6.49 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the author

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Gary Smith

Gary Smith

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Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He has written (or co-authored) ten books and seventy-five academic papers on finance, sports, and statistical pitfalls. His research has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Motley Fool, Newsweek and BusinessWeek. He was a guest speaker on CNBC, and a keynote speaker at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and the Mortgage Finance Industry Summit in New York City. He received his B.A. in Mathematics with Honors from Harvey Mudd College and his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tony Magliero
5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons to be skeptical about ........
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023
I have qualifications similar to author’s Gary Smith in the fields of statistics and artificial intelligence. Like the author, I have qualms about AI, data mining, the science often presented in the popular media. Prof Smith does an outstanding job of distilling arcane concepts to a readable level. With many clearcut examples, he demonstrates how many of the modern “advances” in data analysis are leading us astray. What is new is not necessarily better. The book gives us a wise cautionary tale. All of these so-called advances come with drawbacks and risks. Many just represented computerized guessing. If you are wondering why things seem to be going wrong with new founded areas such as data mining and text generation, Distrust will confirm your suspicions and give you a strong technical foundation to support those suspicions.
2 people found this helpful
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JJohnson1987
2.0 out of 5 stars Author repeats a highly dubious anecdote (highly ironic for a book on distrust and disinformation)
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023
From pp. 8–9:

> One successful Midwestern banker recalled his start in the business:

> Well, I didn’t have much to do and so I rented an empty store and painted “bank” on the window. The first day a man came in and deposited $100, and a couple of days later, another man deposited another $250 and so along about the fourth day I got confidence enough in the bank to put in $1.00 myself.

Gary Smith also printed this highly dubious anecdote in at least one earlier work ("Money Machine", 2017).

Briefly Googling, the earliest instance of this story I could find was from a 1914 newspaper article, where the banker was from Wisconsin. In another 1916 newspaper article, he's instead from Kentucky. The story then also appears in the 1922 book "More Toasts: Jokes, Stories and Quotations".

This hardly appears to be a credible story. But no matter. As the motto of too many economists goes, "Never let the facts get the way of a good story/theory."

This is highly ironic for a book about "Distrust", disinformation, data mining, and bad science.
One person found this helpful
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Osmel Brito-Bigott
1.0 out of 5 stars uninformed and leftist ideological book
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
The author misses the opportunity to make a good book, pointing out the weaknesses and abuses of big data and data mining. Instead, the author focuses on trying to discredit bitcoin in favor of what he says about the financial system "that was well designed in favor of citizens." The author falls into the fallacy of attributing to "science" an absolute authority and which cannot be questioned (scientific totalitarianism).
3 people found this helpful
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