Head in the Cloud
Dispatches from a Post-Fact World
1st Edition
Published on 1. June 2017
336 pages
978-1-78607-285-6 (ISBN)
Description
Never before have we had so much information at our fingertips. You might think that we are better-informed than ever, but there's one thing we can't ask Google: 'What should I be googling?'
The way we consume information in the digital age has been blamed for driving political polarisation and leaving us unable to agree on basic facts. It's also making us stupider. Personalised news feeds and social media echo chambers narrow our potential knowledge base. By now, we don't even know what we don't know.
In Head in the Cloud, William Poundstone investigates the true worth of knowledge. An entertaining manifesto underpinned by big data analysis and illustrated by eye-opening anecdotes, it reveals the surprising benefits of broadening your horizons and provides an unnerving look at the consequences of being ill-informed.
The way we consume information in the digital age has been blamed for driving political polarisation and leaving us unable to agree on basic facts. It's also making us stupider. Personalised news feeds and social media echo chambers narrow our potential knowledge base. By now, we don't even know what we don't know.
In Head in the Cloud, William Poundstone investigates the true worth of knowledge. An entertaining manifesto underpinned by big data analysis and illustrated by eye-opening anecdotes, it reveals the surprising benefits of broadening your horizons and provides an unnerving look at the consequences of being ill-informed.
Reviews / Votes
'Thought-provoking.' -- Tim Harford, Financial Times 'A lot of fun.' * Book Riot * 'True fact: people who read Poundstone's extraordinary books are smarter (and happier) than people who don't.' -- Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception 'Hilarious, humbling and brutally honest.' * E&T Magazine *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
File size
3,08 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78607-285-6 (9781786072856)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2017
Oneworld Publications
€31.13
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
William Poundstone is the author of fourteen books, including the international bestseller Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? He lives in Los Angeles.
Content
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction: Facts Are Obsolete
- Part One: The Dunning-Kruger Effect
- 1 "I Wore the Juice
- 2 A Map of Ignorance
- 3 Dumb History
- 4 The One-in-Five Rule
- 5 The Low-Information Electorate
- Part Two: The Knowledge Premium
- 6 Putting a Price Tag on Facts
- 7 Elevator-Pitch Science
- 8 Grammar Police, Grammar Hippies
- 9 Nanofame
- 10 Is Shrimp Kosher?
- 11 Philosophers and Reality Stars
- 12 Sex and Absurdity
- 13 Moving the Goalposts
- 14 Marshmallow Test
- 15 The Value of Superficial Learning
- Part Three: Strategies for a Culturally Illiterate World
- 16 When Dumbing Down Is Smart
- 17 Curating Knowledge
- 18 The Ice Cap Riddle
- 19 The Fox and the Hedgehog
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Sources
- About the Author
