Big Data: Does Size Matter?

Description

What is Big Data, and why should you care? Big data knows where you've been and who your friends are. It knows what you like and what makes you angry. It can predict what you'll buy, where you'll be the victim of crime and when you'll have a heart attack. Big data knows you better than you know yourself, or so it claims. But how well do you know big data? You've probably seen the phrase in newspaper headlines, at work in a marketing meeting, or on a fitness-tracking gadget. But can you understand it without being a Silicon Valley nerd who writes computer programs for fun? Yes. Yes, you can. Timandra Harkness writes comedy, not computer code. The only programmes she makes are on the radio. If you can read a newspaper you can read this book. Starting with the basics - what IS data? And what makes it big? - Timandra takes you on a whirlwind tour of how people are using big data today: from science to smart cities, business to politics, self-quantification to the Internet of Things. Finally, she asks the big questions about where it's taking us; is it too big for its boots, or does it think too small? Are you a data point or a human being? Will this book be full of rhetorical questions? No. It also contains puns, asides, unlikely stories and engaging people, inspiring feats and thought-provoking dilemmas. Leaving you armed and ready to decide what you think about one of the decade's big ideas: big data.

Timandra Harkness is a writer, comedian and broadcaster, who has been performing on scientific, mathematical and statistical topics since the latter days of the 20th century. She has written about travel for the Sunday Times, motoring for theTelegraph, science & technology for WIRED, BBC Focus Magazine and Men's Health Magazine, and on being 'Seduced by Stats' for Significance (the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society). She is a regular on BBC Radio, resident reporter on social psychology series The Human Zoo as well as writing and presenting documentaries and BBC Radio 4'sFutureProofing series. @TimandraHarknes/ timandraharkness.com

Harkness has the perfect combination of wit, charm and statistical insight to crunch big data. It's the book about stats, life and big data we've all been waiting for. -- Matt Parker, Stand-up Mathematician Harkness raises some very big questions indeed, not just about the grandiose claims of the big data evangelists, but also about how in the age of universal surveillance we can defend the concept of privacy. * The Herald * A wonderful collection of fascinating data stories, all told in Timandra's smart and chatty style. But this book also asks the important questions. If big data brings new opportunities, just what are the implications? -- Hannah Fry, author and mathematician A brilliant guide to our brave new world. -- Brian Clegg This book is a great read - full of interesting stories and fun interviews. But it is not just another credulous tale of technological wonders - Harkness is suitably sceptical of the hype about data analytics, and serious about the challenges is brings. -- David Spiegelhalter, author and mathematician