Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World
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- Create Date：2021-08-15 08:50:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jevin D. West
- ISBN：0141987057
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Summary
'A necessary book for our times。 But also just great fun' Saul Perlmutter， Nobel Laureate
The world is awash in bullshit， and we're drowning in it。 Politicians are unconstrained by facts。 Science is conducted by press release。 Start-up culture elevates hype to high art。 These days， calling bullshit is a noble act。
Based on a popular course at the University of Washington， Calling Bullshit gives us the tools to see through the obfuscations， deliberate and careless， that dominate every realm of our lives。 In this lively guide， biologist Carl Bergstrom and statistician Jevin West show that calling bullshit is crucial to a properly functioning social group， whether it be a circle of friends， a community of researchers， or the citizens of a nation。 Through six rules of thumb， they help us recognize bullshit whenever and wherever we encounter it - even within ourselves - and explain it to a crystal-loving aunt or casually racist grandfather。
The world is awash in bullshit， and we're drowning in it。 Politicians are unconstrained by facts。 Science is conducted by press release。 Start-up culture elevates hype to high art。 These days， calling bullshit is a noble act。
Based on a popular course at the University of Washington， Calling Bullshit gives us the tools to see through the obfuscations， deliberate and careless， that dominate every realm of our lives。 In this lively guide， biologist Carl Bergstrom and statistician Jevin West show that calling bullshit is crucial to a properly functioning social group， whether it be a circle of friends， a community of researchers， or the citizens of a nation。 Through six rules of thumb， they help us recognize bullshit whenever and wherever we encounter it - even within ourselves - and explain it to a crystal-loving aunt or casually racist grandfather。
Reviews
Meghan Smith
，
This was a great book。 It was dry at times， but I learned a ton。 The resources recommended for further learning have also been great。 I especially love the analogy between sharing BS online and throwing litter onto the interstates。 We’ve figured out how to minimize the latter， as a nation， and we can figure out how to minimize the former。 This book will give you tools you need to better understand when something may be BS。 It also gives you methods for diving deeper and disproving BS。 I think an This was a great book。 It was dry at times， but I learned a ton。 The resources recommended for further learning have also been great。 I especially love the analogy between sharing BS online and throwing litter onto the interstates。 We’ve figured out how to minimize the latter， as a nation， and we can figure out how to minimize the former。 This book will give you tools you need to better understand when something may be BS。 It also gives you methods for diving deeper and disproving BS。 I think anybody with a social media account should be required to read this and pass a test on the subject。 。。。more
kevin
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This was really hard to read for some reason even though the content was okay。 Maybe the topics are somehow disparate or I read in multiple settings。 There was nothing inherently new like the chart chapter could be replaced by Tufte。 Some topics were interesting for me as a review like understanding p value。 So it is mixed but if you are new to numbers in general， I imagine this to be quite a good book and it is very instructional， like with some practical steps to call bullshit at the end。
Bartek Jaślikowski
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A book everyone dealing with data in any respect would benefit from reading。 And for that， one doesn’t have to know statistics in order to develop a bullshit sensor。
Alice Rutter
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Fun and educational。
Mel
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Honestly， it was just kind of dull。
Kendall Thompson
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Meh。 It was okay to bad。 It starts off angry and harsh and they definitely get too much joy out of being able to use the word "bullshit" in their writing。 They bring up some good points， but their take on Latour's black box is （ironically） a completely incorrect reading of what Latour actually identifies as a black box。 This knocked it from 3 to 2 start for me。 Meh。 It was okay to bad。 It starts off angry and harsh and they definitely get too much joy out of being able to use the word "bullshit" in their writing。 They bring up some good points， but their take on Latour's black box is （ironically） a completely incorrect reading of what Latour actually identifies as a black box。 This knocked it from 3 to 2 start for me。 。。。more
Steven
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This should be required reading
Markus Pietilä
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3，5/5？
Philip Cohen
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This is an excellent book。
Ryan
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Helpful。 And it impressed my wife to be able to critique P value。 I felt a bit smarter afterwards。
Jonno
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Every American should read this book。 We all need to get better at evaluating the quality of information we consume。 That said， I think they could have made their figures （the ones they present as models to follow， not the ones they criticize） even clearer。 None of their figures had captions， and some of them didn't have axis labels or titles。 Sometimes it was difficult to figure out what the figure was meant to show even after reading the accompanying text。 Every American should read this book。 We all need to get better at evaluating the quality of information we consume。 That said， I think they could have made their figures （the ones they present as models to follow， not the ones they criticize） even clearer。 None of their figures had captions， and some of them didn't have axis labels or titles。 Sometimes it was difficult to figure out what the figure was meant to show even after reading the accompanying text。 。。。more
Tomas Nilsson
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This is one of the better books I have read on the topic of bullshit。
Cherye Elliott
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Not BullshitI am so glad I did the statistic classes in graduate school。What I learned from this book。1。 QUESTION THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION Journalists are trained to ask the following simple questions about any piece of information they encounter: Who is telling me this？ How does he or she know it？ What is this person trying to sell me？2。 BEWARE OF UNFAIR COMPARISONS3。 IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD OR TOO BAD TO BE TRUE…4。 THINK IN ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE5。 AVOID CONFIRMATION BIAS Extreme claims do well on Not BullshitI am so glad I did the statistic classes in graduate school。What I learned from this book。1。 QUESTION THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION Journalists are trained to ask the following simple questions about any piece of information they encounter: Who is telling me this？ How does he or she know it？ What is this person trying to sell me？2。 BEWARE OF UNFAIR COMPARISONS3。 IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD OR TOO BAD TO BE TRUE…4。 THINK IN ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE5。 AVOID CONFIRMATION BIAS Extreme claims do well on social media; so do posts that reaffirm things about the world that we already believe to be true。 This brings us to our next rule of thumb for spotting bullshit: Avoid confirmation bias。 Confirmation bias is the tendency to notice， believe， and share information that is consistent with our preexisting beliefs。6。 CONSIDER MULTIPLE HYPOTHESES7。 SPOTTING BULLSHIT ONLINE 。。。more
Thom
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The authors teach a course on this topic， and this book felt like a textbook in some ways - with chapters identifiable as classes。 Contains humor and anecdotes， but only the last two chapters feel up to par。The second to last chapter is a summary of the previous classes， er， chapters。 If you are at all curious about the topic， start there （or maybe jump there after the intro）。 The last chapter comes back to the title itself， calling out bullshit when you see it。 The focus here is calling it out The authors teach a course on this topic， and this book felt like a textbook in some ways - with chapters identifiable as classes。 Contains humor and anecdotes， but only the last two chapters feel up to par。The second to last chapter is a summary of the previous classes， er， chapters。 If you are at all curious about the topic， start there （or maybe jump there after the intro）。 The last chapter comes back to the title itself， calling out bullshit when you see it。 The focus here is calling it out the right way - getting your facts straight， utilizing humor or a gentle touch when possible， and pointing out your friends gaffs in private instead of in public。 Good advice all。I've heard good things about the professor and the writing， and was perhaps too eager to read this book。 It wasn't quite what I expected， and I can't say for certain that is all on me。 。。。more
Andy
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Skepticism is important， and so I applaud these professors in their mission to fight BS， and much of what they talk about is important and true。 But a lot of it is esoteric trivial examples。 I'm disappointed because I was looking for a book on how to beat the very dangerous bullshit threatening the world today （in areas like pandemics）。Also， I can't get around the fact that you have to go deep into any topic before you can say something meaningful about it。 And so this survey of all kinds of bul Skepticism is important， and so I applaud these professors in their mission to fight BS， and much of what they talk about is important and true。 But a lot of it is esoteric trivial examples。 I'm disappointed because I was looking for a book on how to beat the very dangerous bullshit threatening the world today （in areas like pandemics）。Also， I can't get around the fact that you have to go deep into any topic before you can say something meaningful about it。 And so this survey of all kinds of bullshit-detecting tactics for the ordinary citizen to use doesn't seem very practical。 Towards the end of the book （p。258）， the authors give an example where you have to dig down and look up the primary source to sort out a question。 And then in their conclusion， they say "Make sure you have the facts at hand--don't skimp on the background research--and then double-check them。" I agree。 But even if you can critically read one scientific article， you can't interpret its relevance without knowing the context in that field。 And nobody can do that for every topic out there。There's a chapter on causality and the authors mention smoking and cancer as a "clear-cut" causal link。 But that's no explanation: just saying it's obvious should ring bullshit alarms。 It would have been instructive to explain how we know that smoking causes cancer。 We do know that。 It is true。 It can be explained to people。 You can show them the overwhelming evidence。 You can explain the Uncle Norbert fallacy。 But that takes time。 More importantly， getting citizens or even doctors to read the original science is not how the progress in tobacco control was achieved。 Similarly， the things that I've seen that are promising for fighting global warming denial involve taking people out into nature or doing experiments and hands-on demonstrations of the evidence。 But I can't imagine a scalable approach for doing that with tens of millions of people。 And that would not stop the endless flow of money and beautifully-crafted lies from powerful special interests。 A recurring theme in the book that troubled me is the idea that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence，" because the implication of this is that claims that go along with the conventional wisdom don't require special scrutiny。 So if experts say the Earth is flat， or opioids aren't addictive， then it's safe to agree with either consensus opinion， but dangerous to challenge it。 I would argue that all claims should be met with skepticism and all new science requires rigorous evidence。 Progress in many areas， including medicine， is hampered by adherence to BS dogma。 Scientists and other gatekeepers of information should always be asking "How do you know that？" -- not just when it's easy by punching down against apparent nut jobs， but also when it's hard。 Books of possible interest: How to Lie with Statistics。 Investigating Disease Patterns: The Science of EpidemiologyFactfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think。 Getting What We Deserve: Health and Medical Care in America。 Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right The Discovery of Global Warming: Revised and Expanded Edition Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming Hoax: Donald Trump， Fox News， and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth The Art of Scientific InvestigationScience & Human Values 。。。more
K。J。 Charles
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Excellent read on bullshit， and specifically the modern kind that hides behind statistics or plausible-sounding claims。 Full of useful examples， ways of tackling it （including 'get off the internet'）， and memorable quotes。 Very definitely a book that should be issued to everyone， although what it doesn't tackle is the people who are absolutely determined to believe bullshit because it suits them better than the truth。 I don't know what you do about them。 Read this as a refresher against the tsun Excellent read on bullshit， and specifically the modern kind that hides behind statistics or plausible-sounding claims。 Full of useful examples， ways of tackling it （including 'get off the internet'）， and memorable quotes。 Very definitely a book that should be issued to everyone， although what it doesn't tackle is the people who are absolutely determined to believe bullshit because it suits them better than the truth。 I don't know what you do about them。 Read this as a refresher against the tsunami of crap blasting into our faces on a daily basis， and give yourself a chance not to be taken in。 。。。more
Mike Klymkowsky
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What scientific literacy （and clear thinking） is all aboutA clear and complete discussion of how the construction of arguments can go off the rails。 A great resource into how to analyze information and arguments calmly （assuming that that is possible）
Rachel
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Thought it would be a challenging and academic read but it was surprisingly quite reader-friendly and I finished this in one sitting！Calling Bullshit is all about exposing the BS that exists in the media， identifying fake news and the myriad of ways in which statistics， graphs， charts and data are used to twist the truth， and why fighting fake news takes way more effort and brain power than creating it。 I feel like math geeks may appreciate this one。 This book is a good teacher and a great remin Thought it would be a challenging and academic read but it was surprisingly quite reader-friendly and I finished this in one sitting！Calling Bullshit is all about exposing the BS that exists in the media， identifying fake news and the myriad of ways in which statistics， graphs， charts and data are used to twist the truth， and why fighting fake news takes way more effort and brain power than creating it。 I feel like math geeks may appreciate this one。 This book is a good teacher and a great reminder that being careful and skeptical about the news， information， and data that we consume in the Internet age is so important。Loved the example of how Quartz news outlet did a comparison of Apple’s graph reflecting cumulative sales increasing year on year with its actual quarterly sales performance to highlight how in actual fact， iPhone sales have not been on the increase but actually have been on the steady decline （cumulative sales can never go down！） Language is so important， and data visualisation can also easily sway people’s minds （it’s easy to focus on inaccurate/misleading graphics and ignore key words and figures！）。 Definitely recommend this if you want to sharpen your thinking and ability to critically analyse and challenge the ever growing streams of information we receive daily through our phones and computers。 Many thanks to @times。reads for this very pertinent read :）Calling Bullshit is available at all good local bookshops！ 。。。more
Mehmet
，
I have read a lot of books on critical thinking and numeracy。 All but a couple of them were great。 This one stands out even among the great ones。 I probably should wait for my enthusiasm to wane before writing this review -- so I can think more critically about the book -- but I can come back and edit this if necessary。I really wish everyone on Earth could and would read this book。 The examples （stories） alone would suffice to make it great reading -- something I think it shares with Jordan Elle I have read a lot of books on critical thinking and numeracy。 All but a couple of them were great。 This one stands out even among the great ones。 I probably should wait for my enthusiasm to wane before writing this review -- so I can think more critically about the book -- but I can come back and edit this if necessary。I really wish everyone on Earth could and would read this book。 The examples （stories） alone would suffice to make it great reading -- something I think it shares with Jordan Ellenberg's 'How Not To Be Wrong'。It's not just about what the issues are; it also provides all these side benefits of understanding how to and not to evaluate major civic construction projects， social-safety-net programs， and so on。The chapter on fake mathiness was particularly eye-opening to me -- obvious once it's been pointed out， but we're so used to seeing Venn diagrams used haphazardly that I didn't think about it。All in all， it's a *fun* and valuable book。 。。。more
Brenda Kochis
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Opens one's eyes to some of the writings out there。 Opens one's eyes to some of the writings out there。 。。。more
Jerry James
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Great overview of the more practical tools to handle misinformation。
Dugy
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Awesome book full of tools how to spot and call bullshit ever more present in todays news， social media and society。
Ryan Routh
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A sort of update to How to Lie with Statistics， Bergstrom and West give a very readable and well-paced book about how statistics are manipulated or misunderstood by modern media。 The best chapters are perhaps about data visualization techniques that are inappropriate and manipulative and there is a good chapter on p-hacking to close out the book。 A worthy read that I have used in my high school math classes。
Randal
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Well-written， well-researched， clear and often funny。Four stars not five because I don't know who to recommend it to 。。。 we skeptics already know this stuff， the deeply ignorant typically want to stay that way。 That leaves the BS-curious， I guess， but how do you go up to someone and say "You seem particularly gullible， you should read this。" Well-written， well-researched， clear and often funny。Four stars not five because I don't know who to recommend it to 。。。 we skeptics already know this stuff， the deeply ignorant typically want to stay that way。 That leaves the BS-curious， I guess， but how do you go up to someone and say "You seem particularly gullible， you should read this。" 。。。more
Pseudo
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The Art of Statistics by David Spiegelhalter， is a much more interesting and thorough book to read on the subject。 A bit harder， yes， but much more rewarding。 Because at the end of the day， it's all about statistical literacy : navigating the data without falling prey to biases and misinformation requires an understanding of how data is compiled into pertinent statistics。 This book is a bit superficial。 Imo， Bergstrom milks concepts David Spiegelhalter explains far better and more concisely （i。e The Art of Statistics by David Spiegelhalter， is a much more interesting and thorough book to read on the subject。 A bit harder， yes， but much more rewarding。 Because at the end of the day， it's all about statistical literacy : navigating the data without falling prey to biases and misinformation requires an understanding of how data is compiled into pertinent statistics。 This book is a bit superficial。 Imo， Bergstrom milks concepts David Spiegelhalter explains far better and more concisely （i。e。 correlation vs causation）。 The examples are more meaningful too。 And David Spiegelhalter takes you further， even if I have to admit a few of the later chapters （delta stuff） were challenging for me initially。 No matter， you will get much more out of reading a few chapters of The Art of Statistics than finishing Calling Bullshit。 And you can always skip the chapters you find difficult and come back to it later。 https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/5。。。 。。。more
Vaughan
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There are lies， damn lies and statistics。 This book highights some of the cognitive biases， visualisation tricks used to misrepresent data and statistical traps that people fall for。 Most of it wont be new to you - but it is still worth the read。Note - I listened to the audio book， and it kept referring me to the associated PDF （which the library copy did not include）。 It is very likely I would have gotten more out of the book if I had the PDF rather than relying on my imagination to fill in the There are lies， damn lies and statistics。 This book highights some of the cognitive biases， visualisation tricks used to misrepresent data and statistical traps that people fall for。 Most of it wont be new to you - but it is still worth the read。Note - I listened to the audio book， and it kept referring me to the associated PDF （which the library copy did not include）。 It is very likely I would have gotten more out of the book if I had the PDF rather than relying on my imagination to fill in the blanks。 。。。more
Newton Campbell
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Solid concrete tips on things to look for when being shown data。
Holliferous
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Definitely had great points， but then belabored those points over and over again。 I'm glad I read it， just wish I would have skimmed more than I did。 Definitely had great points， but then belabored those points over and over again。 I'm glad I read it， just wish I would have skimmed more than I did。 。。。more
Greg Talbot
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"A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes" - Mark TwainOur greatest invention， giving us tools to push past our limitations is science （p。206）。 Bergstrom describes science not as a "heart of ultimate reality" but a "collection of institutions， norms， customs and traditions that are developed by trial and error 。 It's easier to confront a lie， but no so easy to confront bullshit。 And with a data driven world， what makes us human makes us gullible。 It's sai "A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes" - Mark TwainOur greatest invention， giving us tools to push past our limitations is science （p。206）。 Bergstrom describes science not as a "heart of ultimate reality" but a "collection of institutions， norms， customs and traditions that are developed by trial and error 。 It's easier to confront a lie， but no so easy to confront bullshit。 And with a data driven world， what makes us human makes us gullible。 It's said that you can lie with statistics， but it's hard to tell the truth without them。 And so， approaching graphs， data transformations or any arrived conclusions requires we not succumb to the given data， but work back to the source of truth。The last chapter "Refuting Bullshit"， feels like it could have been it's own book。 Whether it's social media or just a work meeting， giving a perspective that counters a reality requires not just logic， but good judgement。 A wonderful book defending science against ourselves A bit of humility， a bit of skepticism， but serving the greater cause of reason， and teaching ourselves to be better。 。。。more
Katie
，