Leader: Josh Edge
Book: Calling Bullsh**: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
Author: Carl T. Bergstorm & Jevin D. West
Description: In our personal and professional lives, we are bombarded with data-driven analyses every day. These analyses are often dressed with an air of mathematical impartiality. In reality, though, those analyses are precisely what this book examines: bullshit. This book deals with all aspects of bullshit: “what it is, where it comes from, and why so much of it is produced” (Page 3). The book also discusses how anyone–not just those who understand the pertinent algorithms and mathematics–can call bullshit on a questionable analysis. The book covers topics such as the bullshit in visualization, bullshit in numbers, bullshit in selection, and the bullshit of big data. The book also discusses how academic experts are susceptible to bullshit and ends by describing ways anyone can spot and call out bullshit. (Note: Cursing–while encouraged–will be optional for this book group.)
Information from the Group Leader: Like it or not, fake news is proliferating, and it is increasingly becoming the onus of faculty members to help students separate good analyses from bad. A central theme to this book is that one need not b and expert in data science to understand when a study is misleading us. My hope with this book discussion is to facilitate a discussion on how we can cut through the supposed mathematical impartiality of data-based claims to see them for what they often are: bullshit. This idea touches at the heart of discussions occurring in many disciplines, and faculty from all disciplines will benefit from this book and subsequent discussion.