Distrust

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

By: Gary Smith

Narrated by: Graham Winton

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.

With accessible examples ranging from COVID disinformation to bitcoin and conspiracy theories, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society’s growing distrust of science, and ultimately, through constructive suggestions, paves the way forward for restoring the credibility of the scientific community.

©2023 Gary Smith (P)2023 Recorded Books

An Important Story

Smith clearly has been at this-enhancing the strength of truth filters-for a long time. His main topics are well described and demonstrated, though he does go off the path with a few favorite stories. I was surprised then that his celebration of a connection between exercise and longevity was not used as an example of selection bias.
Overall-an important message well told