Visit hbs.edu

Book talk: Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World

Jevin West headshot

The world is awash in BS. Pandering politicians, winking advertisers, startup soothsayers, television “experts”, and even some scientists use the news media to promulgate half-truths, misrepresentations and sometimes outright lies. Their clickbait headlines and titles are often supported with data reports, fancy figures and complex statistics. But with every fact being contradicted by an opposing view supported by their own expert, statistic, or deep fake video, we are more confused than ever. So, how can we distinguish bullshit from fact? And how do we call bullshit when we see it? In this talk, I will highlight some of the pitfalls and strategies for spotting and refuting bullshit, especially the kind wrapped in data, statistics and fancy algorithms.  

Engage With Us

Join Our Community

Ready to dive deeper with the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard? Subscribe to our newsletter, contribute to the conversation and begin to invent the future for yourself, your business and society as a whole.