The Model Thinker

What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You

By: Scott E. Page

Narrated by: Jamie Renell

Work with data like a pro using this guide that breaks down how to organize, apply, and most importantly, understand what you are analyzing in order to become a true data ninja.

From the stock market to genomics laboratories, census figures to marketing email blasts, we are awash with data. But as anyone who has ever opened up a spreadsheet packed with seemingly infinite lines of data knows, numbers aren't enough: we need to know how to make those numbers talk. In The Model Thinker, social scientist Scott E. Page shows us the mathematical, statistical, and computational models—from linear regression to random walks and far beyond—that can turn anyone into a genius. At the core of the book is Page's "many-model paradigm," which shows the reader how to apply multiple models to organize the data, leading to wiser choices, more accurate predictions, and more robust designs. The Model Thinker provides a toolkit for business people, students, scientists, pollsters, and bloggers to make them better, clearer thinkers, able to leverage data and information to their advantage.

The Model Thinker

Great book! Highly recommended for people interested in understanding complexity through a multi-model approach.

Truly phenomenal

Incredibly informative and even more elegantly written. Diligence given to the mathematics with thorough explanations supported by practical, relevant examples - without overdoing it.

Very Technical

This is a well-done audio book covering a highly technical topic. The authors balance between theory and practice skewed toward theory. I would have preferred a few more concrete examples. Most examples were overly simplified.

That said, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the use of models in decision making.

Good textbook. Good for qualitative modeling intro

Narrator does great job with material. Good material but not well suited to audiobook format. Should listen with pencil and paper handy.

great for autodidacts

Love how Scott Page describes mental models… his analogies make it so much easier to understand.