Data Duped: How to Avoid Being Hoodwinked by Misinformation

Gives you the superpower to be a healthy skeptic when consuming data and information. Data Duped is a book about how we are commonly deceived by numbers in our everyday lives. From lotteries, product warranties, and weight loss fads to misleading headlines and social media posts, there is no shortage of confusing or misleading information. Numbers are used to manipulate our decisions and impact our lives in ways that may not be immediately apparent. Data Duped will help you avoid being fooled by these messages and to develop a sense of ‘data defense’ by learning what types of questions to ask and how to maintain a healthy level of curiosity and data skepticism. Data Duped guides readers to discern the differences between the plausible and the ridiculous along a journey of informed critical thinking and data literacy. With historical parallels alongside practical and relatable examples, readers will learn how to spot the ‘malarkey’ from the truth and how to avoid being hoodwinked by misinformation.

About the Author :
Derek W. Gibson has spent most of his career providing business analytics in financial services guiding business strategy and decision making, primarily with Wachovia and Wells Fargo Banks. He is a Certified Retirement Planning Specialist (CRPS), a Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC), and has held FINRA Series 6 and Series 63 licenses. Derek also serves on the Wake Forest University MS Business Analytics advisory board and has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Data Analytics and Business Models. He is a frequent speaker to the next generation of data scientists on the trends and needs in the business world. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. Jeffrey D. Camm is the Inmar Presidential Chair in Analytics, and the Academic Director of the Center for Analytics Impact at the Wake Forest University School of Business. He has consulted for numerous corporations including Procter and Gamble, Owens Corning, GE, Duke Energy, Tyco, Ace Hardware, Starbucks, Kroger, and others. In 2016, he received the Kimball Medal for service to the Operations Research profession and in 2017 he was named an INFORMS Fellow. He is coauthor of ten books in statistics, management science and analytics. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Review :
In today’s world, we are barraged with data found anywhere from headlines and social media to governments and banks. Authors Gibson and Camm shed light on how the origin of numbers like these shapes our decisions and how to avoid being duped by them. People don’t give much consideration to how data impacts their lives. For example, cell phones track where we go and what we buy. Marketers use this data to send targeted advertisements to influence buying behavior. While this data focuses on the personal, there are other kinds, like community (crime), banking (interest rates), national (government spending), and so on. In addition to the origins and awareness of data types, the authors offer defense strategies for all to use for better data interpretation. One is an exercise on fact and opinion, where readers can use a checklist to differentiate information in a Wikipedia entry. Readers will be drawn into this well-researched book filled with anecdotes and punctuated with key points at the end of each chapter. They will also gain insights into how to approach data more objectively while gaining data-literacy skills. Being an effective consumer of data and information is a prerequisite for living a good life in the 21st century. This book has the tools and insights you need to become numerate and literate in a data-driven world. All of us are drowning in data. Gibson and Camm provide a roadmap through the interpretation of data that will transform people who know little about data into intelligent consumers of all types of data.