This one wasn't what I was looking for. Though a good book, I was thinking it would be something different.

This is a good manual for media literacy in the 21st century. The data-loving skeptical realist in me thoroughly enjoyed this book. The reader who craves entertainment, not as much. There's a whole lot of statistical analysis going on in here. Good information, but I needed to read it in little bites. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Calling Bullshit is a slightly mathy but surprisingly useful book about how to think critically about the information and research we read about in the news.

For you if: You’ve taken an intro to statistics class and want to learn how data and studies can be misleading.

FULL REVIEW:

I was pleasantly surprised by Calling Bullshit. A lot of big idea nonfiction books should really just be a TED Talk, but I didn’t feel that way about this one. And it had some good jokes, too!

The mission of the authors of Calling Bullshit is to give people the knowledge and tools to prevent themselves from being duped too often by misleading (either deliberately or not) information, especially in statistics and scientific studies. It starts out with “correlation vs causation” and issues with data samples, which are probably the most often recognized types of BS, but then it goes beyond that into things like misleading practices in data visualization, the true limitations of determining statistical significance in scientific studies, and even biases and selection bias in scientific journal publications.

This book is by two scientists, two professors. And so expect that going in — their arguments are rooted in math and statistics. I think if you’ve taken an intro to statistics class, you’ll be able to follow along no problem. Of course, if you have a mathy mind, that will help, but I don’t think it’s totally necessary. Just be ready for it.

While I did know some of what they covered before (mostly the first few chapters, which makes sense — they had to make sure everyone was on the same page before building on those concepts — I learned quite a bit in the later chapters. And I took statistics three times: in high school, during undergrad, and at business school. None of them were particularly high-level stats classes, but still. For example, I had never learned about the “prosecutor’s dilemma,” which has huge implications! And I really appreciated the chapter on journal publications and why we can’t necessarily take studies as fact.

I finished this book feeling empowered and even more eager to start spotting bullshit out in the wild.

Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West's Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World could not have come at a better time. Well, maybe about three months ago would have been a better time. The year 2020 has, so far, been primarily marked by Covid-19 and the response to it. If you're like me, you are frustrated by the conflicting information given out by the media and the array of "experts." Yes, a few of these folks have been studying contagious diseases for years, but then all these other "experts" chime in with their newly minted charts and graphs and "science" and "data" and we are left not knowing who to believe. Politicians and the press say "listen to science" and "follow the data" then scientists disagree, data changes, and settled science suddenly becomes yesterday's news.



Bergsrtom and West, both professors at the University of Washington, bring some much-needed level headedness into the data-saturated, 24/7 news, social media world we live in. (But due to the date of publication, Covid-19 is not part of this book.) As they define it, b.s. (they use the word throughout, and call me prudish, it's just not a word in my vocabulary, so I'll use the short version in this review) "uses the language of math and science and statistics to create the impression of rigor and accuracy. . . . New-school b.s. can be particularly effective because many of us don't feel qualified to challenge information that is presented in quantitative form." A side comment about TED talks cracked me up. So many people think a TED talk is the gold standard of authoritative, but they write "the TED brand of b.s. is just a cocktail of sound-bite science, management-speak, and techno-optimism."



We have access to more data than ever, but much of it is not reliable due to its source or presentation. Bergstrom and West cover the various ways we are presented with b.s. and offer guidance to resist being taken in. A favorite is numbers. They "feel objective, but are easily manipulated to tell whatever story one desires." Even better when data is presented in chart form. Their section on charts and graphs may be the most useful part of the book. They show the many ways an easy-to-read graph that seems to make a clear point may be concealing the very information you need.



In spite of their pretty clear lean to the left, they are balanced in their examples across the ideological spectrum. Suffice it to say that no ideological group is exempt from the desire or habit of manipulating data and information to make a point. Whether you are reading a Twitter post, watching the evening news, or even reading a paper in an academic journal, you will be better equipped to evaluate the information--and spotting b.s.--thanks to Bergstrom and West. If someone starts a sentence with "studies say," "according to science," or something like that, put up your b.s. detector.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

I was expecting a light, funny, informational read when I selected this book. I should have known better with terms in the blurb like "expertise in statistics" and "examples of selection bias!" Don't get me wrong, this is an incredibly interesting book, and there's humor. It's thorough and it is DENSE, full of graphs and equations and research examples. It was over my head at times. I had to read small portions at a time (and sometimes re-read them) but it makes a lot of sense to me how we as a society are so easily manipulated by modern bullshit. This book covers a lot of ground and draws from many academic fields: philosophy, social psychology, social science, statistics, biology, and language. At times I was overwhelmed and upset by the blatant evidence of ways people are tricked by marketing, politicians, and celebrities. Ultimately, this is a useful book. The authors give us clear explanations and examples of how to wade through bullshit. By explaining complex principles and showing the difference between causation and correlation, the authors give the rear tools to use to help navigate today's headlines, social media posts, and myths.