
More Numbers Every Day
How Data, Stats, and Figures Control Our Lives and How to Set Ourselves Free
Grand Central Publishing
Published on 14. March 2023
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-306-83084-6 (ISBN)
Description
How many unread emails are there in your inbox? How many hours of sleep did you get last week? How many steps did you walk today? We’re drowning in digits and immersed in integers, and More Numbers Every Day, by internationally renowned economics professors Micael Dahlen and Helge Thorbjørnsen is a timely and powerful investigation — and warning — about the trouble numbers can bring us.
Today we all strive to quantify everything: calories, likes, website traffic, and even friends. And then we rate things, too: movies, restaurants, taxi drivers, experiences, professors, and dates. We measure ourselves against others and compare our real experiences to imagined averages. But in our rush to measure, we can lose sight of what matters. In this delightful and alarming book, Dahlen and Thorbjørnsen show how we’re exposed and infected by an ever-more contagious pandemic of numbers. With groundbreaking, empowering, sometimes frightening, and sometimes funny research, they help us see how numbers creep into our heads and bodies, affecting how we think and feel. When do numbers make us stronger and when do they make us weaker? When do they mislead us? And when do they turn us into narcissistic idiots? Look at the book as your numerical vaccination, for a happier and more numerically healthy life.
Today we all strive to quantify everything: calories, likes, website traffic, and even friends. And then we rate things, too: movies, restaurants, taxi drivers, experiences, professors, and dates. We measure ourselves against others and compare our real experiences to imagined averages. But in our rush to measure, we can lose sight of what matters. In this delightful and alarming book, Dahlen and Thorbjørnsen show how we’re exposed and infected by an ever-more contagious pandemic of numbers. With groundbreaking, empowering, sometimes frightening, and sometimes funny research, they help us see how numbers creep into our heads and bodies, affecting how we think and feel. When do numbers make us stronger and when do they make us weaker? When do they mislead us? And when do they turn us into narcissistic idiots? Look at the book as your numerical vaccination, for a happier and more numerically healthy life.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 147 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-306-83084-6 (9780306830846)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Micael Dahlen is a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. His research focuses on economics, happiness and welfare. He has written books on topics ranging from happiness and the meaning of life, to evil, tech, and human behaviors. Professor Dahlen is an internationally acclaimed speaker, a podcast host, and a self-proclaimed Asktronaut. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
Helge Thorbjørnsen is a Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics. He is curious about human behavior and decision-making, especially when technology is involved. His research and teaching span from happiness and well-being to behavioral economics, innovation and advertising. He lives in Bergen, Norway.