“This book is about a whole new way of studying the mind.”
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“a whirlwind tour of the modern human psyche using search data as its guide ... The empirical findings in Everybody Lies are so intriguing that the book would be a page-turner even if it were structured as a mere laundry list. But Mr Stephens-Davidowitz also puts forward a deft argument: the web will revolutionise social science just as the microscope and telescope transformed the natural sciences.”
“argues persuasively for a mutiny in social science”
“Move over Freakonomics. Move over Moneyball. This brilliant book is the best demonstration yet of how big data plus cleverness can illuminate and then move the world.”
How much sex do people really have?
How many Americans are actually racist?
What should you say on a first date if you want a second?
Is America experiencing a hidden back-alley abortion crisis?
Where is the best place to raise kids?
Can you game the stock market?
Do parents treat sons differently from daughters?
How many men are gay?
Do violent movies increase violent crime?
How many people actually read the books they buy?
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, a Harvard-trained economist, former Google data scientist, and New York Times writer, argues that much of what we thought about people has been dead wrong. The reason? People lie, to friends, lovers, doctors, surveys—and themselves.
However, we no longer need to rely on what people tell us. New data from the internet—the traces of information that billions of people leave on Google, social media, dating, and even pornography sites—finally reveals the truth. By analyzing this digital goldmine, we can now learn what people really think, what they really want, and what they really do. Sometimes the new data will make you laugh out loud. Sometimes the new data will shock you. Sometimes the new data will deeply disturb you. But, always, this new data will make you think.
Everybody Lies combines the informed analysis of Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise, the storytelling of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, and the wit and fun of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s Freakonomics in a book that will change the way you view the world. There is almost no limit to what can be learned about human nature from Big Data—provided, that is, you ask the right questions.
ADDITIONAL PRAISE FOR EVERYBODY LIES
“Everybody Lies is an astoundingly clever and mischievous exploration of what big data tells us about everyday life. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is as good a data storyteller as I have ever met.”
“Brimming with intriguing anecdotes and counterintuitive facts, Stephens-Davidowitz does his level best to help usher in a new age of human understanding, one digital data point at a time.”
“Everybody Lies relies on big data to rip the veneer of what we like to think of as our civilized selves. A book that is fascinating, shocking, sometimes horrifying, but above all, revealing.”
“Seth is an internet pervert —- I mean expert —- who can explain the meaning of Freudian slips, the secret life of searches, what people really think about sex, and what it takes to succeed at sports. Slips, searches, sex and sports —- who could ask for more!”
“Freakonomics on steroids—this book shows how big data can give us surprising new answers to important and interesting questions.”
“super interesting”
“Everybody Lies is a spirited and enthralling examination of the data of our lives. Drawing on a wide variety of revelatory sources, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz will make you cringe, chuckle, and wince at the people you thought we were.”
“Eye-opening ... demystifies cultural buzzwords and debunks popular ideas, all while showing us a really good time.”
“I think [Everybody Lies] is one of the most important books written in the last decade. It’s HUGELY telling about who we are vs who we want to be.”