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

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.

Using a wide range of entertaining examples, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society's growing distrust of science, and ultimately provides constructive suggestions for restoring the credibility of the scientific community.

Gary Smith, Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics, Pomona College

Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University and was an Assistant Professor there for seven years. He has won two teaching awards and written (or co-authored) more than 100 academic papers and 15 books. He is the author of The AI Delusion (OUP 2018) and co-author with Jay Cordes of The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science (OUP 2019), which won the 2020 Prose Award for Excellence in Popular Science & Popular Mathematics by the Association of American Publishers.

Introduction: Disinformation, Data Torturing, and Data Mining
Part I - Disinformation
1. The Paranormal Is Normal
2. Flying Saucers and Space Tourists
3. Elite Conspiracies
4. A Post-Fact World
Part II - Data Torturing
5. Squeezing Blood from Rocks
6. Most Medicines Disappoint
7. Provocative, but Wrong
Part III - Data Mining
8. Looking for Needles in Haystacks
9. Beat the Market
10. Too Much Data
Part IV - The Real Promise and Peril of AI
11. Overpromising and Underdelivering
12. Artificial Unintelligence
Part V - The Crisis
13. Irreproducible Research
14. The Replication Crisis
15. Restoring the Luster of Science