Nonfiction

Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life

Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-04-01 06:52:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
  • ISBN：0062880926
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Summary

"Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is more than a data scientist。 He is a prophet for how to use the data revolution to reimagine your life。 Don't Trust Your Gut is a tour de force--an intoxicating blend of analysis， humor， and humanity。" -- Daniel H。 Pink， #1 New York Times bestselling author of When， Drive， and To Sell Is Human

Big decisions are hard。 We consult friends and family， make sense of confusing "expert" advice online， maybe we read a self-help book to guide us。 In the end， we usually just do what feels right， pursuing high stakes self-improvement--such as who we marry， how to date， where to live， what makes us happy--based solely on what our gut instinct tells us。 But what if our gut is wrong？ Biased， unpredictable， and misinformed， our gut， it turns out， is not all that reliable。 And data can prove this。

In Don't Trust Your Gut， economist， former Google data scientist， and New York Times bestselling author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals just how wrong we really are when it comes to improving our own lives。 In the past decade， scholars have mined enormous datasets to find remarkable new approaches to life's biggest self-help puzzles。 Data from hundreds of thousands of dating profiles have revealed surprising successful strategies to get a date; data from hundreds of millions of tax records have uncovered the best places to raise children; data from millions of career trajectories have found previously unknown reasons why some rise to the top。

Telling fascinating， unexpected stories with these numbers and the latest big data research， Stephens-Davidowitz exposes that， while we often think we know how to better ourselves， the numbers disagree。 Hard facts and figures consistently contradict our instincts and demonstrate self-help that actually works--whether it involves the best time in life to start a business or how happy it actually makes us to skip a friend's birthday party for a night of Netflix on the couch。 From the boring careers that produce the most wealth， to the old-school， data-backed relationship advice so well-worn it's become a literal joke， he unearths the startling conclusions that the right data can teach us about who we are and what will make our lives better。

Lively， engrossing， and provocative， the end result opens up a new world of self-improvement made possible with massive troves of data。 Packed with fresh， entertaining insights， Don't Trust Your Gut redefines how to tackle our most consequential choices， one that hacks the market inefficiencies of life and leads us to make smarter decisions about how to improve our lives。 Because in the end， the numbers don't lie。

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Reviews

Sharene ，

Fluffy but enjoyable and had some interesting research I hadn't heard elsewhere Fluffy but enjoyable and had some interesting research I hadn't heard elsewhere 。。。more

Kate Bartley ，

2 weeks after finishing this and I still keep referencing points on happiness data - all you need is sunshine， ocean and friends

Ryan Bean ，

Amazing！ I loved this book because it resonated so easily with me。 Being analytically minded makes this book that much more fascinating。 Cannot recommend enough if you are looking to let data drive your decision making。

Alex Santiago ，

I really enjoyed the book。 Many data points surprised me！ Compared to many self help I have read recently， I really learnt many things from this book。

shark typhoon ，

The irony that in a book about big data he cherry picks。Obvious and often nonsense - this was disappointing。

Amarish Tripathi ，

This books provide data driven answers to various topics。 Few insights are helpful but overall I feel like big assumption made by author is data collected captures the essence of his findings。 In my opinion the data collected is always partial so assigning causality to it may lead to incorrect predictions。

Andrew Kelley ，

Seth Steven-Davidowitz points to data that suggest the start， peak high， peak low， but especially end of an experience dictate much of how we perceive experiences。 Despite knowing this he delivers the most half baked， underwhelming conclusions to an already flawed book: “data can help us come to surprising conclusions about important decisions in our life”。 Not only is this abundantly obvious， but it is the thesis to so many other books done much better with a more valuable take on the topic tha Seth Steven-Davidowitz points to data that suggest the start， peak high， peak low， but especially end of an experience dictate much of how we perceive experiences。 Despite knowing this he delivers the most half baked， underwhelming conclusions to an already flawed book: “data can help us come to surprising conclusions about important decisions in our life”。 Not only is this abundantly obvious， but it is the thesis to so many other books done much better with a more valuable take on the topic that is either more narrowed in or better。 Not only does this conclusion read as a high schoolers summary of several other self help books of the same style， a la Freakenomics， Malcom Gladwell， Daniel Khaneman， etc， but the whole book does！ And that is not for no reason， Steven-Davidowitz cites other pop-science and self help books regularly throughout the book， such as Homo-Deus， maybe I’m in the minority， but these are secondary sources and it feels amateurish to cite them。 Even the anecdotes that are not cited by other books are so over used。 I read a lot， and this is at least the third book I have read that uses the study on colonoscopies to explain how we perceive experiences， it just feels lazy， and no new insides were gleamed upon this third read。 When Steven-Davidowitz is not citing secondary sources， his other citations are bad as well。 He references quotes from Y Combinator 3 times in a short span。 Y-Combinator was used as an example of a company that doesn’t know what is valuable， they prefer young entrepreneurs。 Just pages later it used Y Combinator to justify that being an outsider can be a good thing， and again， just pages later that turns out to be wrong。 In the very next chapter Y Combinator is provided as the savior for AirBnB。 And then he quotes the CEO on how to achieve success。 It felt like lazy writing， there was no arc， it was not that they made mistakes and then learned to use data， it was just a weird section that felt forced with no good conclusions。 The content has several more flaws， this book is disjointed， the conclusion is poor because there is no logical progression， some of the topics are interesting， but the only link between them is that “some new data Y reveals surprising conclusion X” this isn’t justification of a book， this is just how the scientific method works， nothing new is discovered here。 It is not even that the author is using some new method， he claims to be using AI/ML for these conclusions， and as someone who works in the industry， most these conclusions are just correlation studies or something that can be found with a regression model。 It is so frustratingtthat big data and AI/ML are used to sell books， and the outcomes here are just so meh！ This book just falls so flat， I cannot deny there are a few interesting facts here and there， and that I did in fact find some interesting figures that go against what my initial tuition; but that is roughly where the good ends， it is a summary of self health books with “surprising conclusions” that somehow managed to get published。Not Good （1。5 Stars） 。。。more

​ ，

Some things are not what you’d think。 Yet other things are exactly what you’d think。 Yet even otherer things are counter to the opposite of what you’d think。 This book is full of contemporary sagacity as evidenced by the ample references to Seinfeld。 However， a more economical reader might be better served by reading the title once or twice and moving on。

Todd Landrum ，

Good read with interesting stories， unfortunately most of the stories were things that don't appliable to my life at this point -- dating， where to live， raising kids -- so wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped。 Good read with interesting stories， unfortunately most of the stories were things that don't appliable to my life at this point -- dating， where to live， raising kids -- so wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped。 。。。more

Jon Evan Moore ，

A great sequel to his first book。 An eye-opening read to help you become less idealistic about where you find happiness， and using data science to actually get you you closer to it。

Ilan Joffe ，

Moneyball for life

Michael ，

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz did it again。 "Don't Trust Your Gut" is a captivating read—revealing insights about our lives that we might not have otherwise known—or that we may have known but don't know that we know （don't ask me， read the book）。 Reading this book will make you happy。 Not， like， super happy， but happier than many other activities。 Don't believe me？ Well， then， you definitely need to read the book。 Seth Stephens-Davidowitz did it again。 "Don't Trust Your Gut" is a captivating read—revealing insights about our lives that we might not have otherwise known—or that we may have known but don't know that we know （don't ask me， read the book）。 Reading this book will make you happy。 Not， like， super happy， but happier than many other activities。 Don't believe me？ Well， then， you definitely need to read the book。 。。。more

Jace ，

An entertaining， quick book to get you thinking and talking about different dating， parenthood， and general life stats that sometimes go against our natural intuition。

Ben Rogers ，

Another Banger By SSDThis was an outstanding book。 I absolutely LOVED his first book， Everybody Lies: Big Data， New Data， and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are， which at the writing of this review remains as one of my top 24 books I have ever read。This book focused on similar information as the first book， but went into much more detail。 I found each chapter endlessly fascinating。 From learning about what neighborhoods to live in to optimize your children's development， to ho Another Banger By SSDThis was an outstanding book。 I absolutely LOVED his first book， Everybody Lies: Big Data， New Data， and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are， which at the writing of this review remains as one of my top 24 books I have ever read。This book focused on similar information as the first book， but went into much more detail。 I found each chapter endlessly fascinating。 From learning about what neighborhoods to live in to optimize your children's development， to how to optimize your online dating， to even your own physical appearance - Seth takes a data-driven， data-first approach on every decision。 I loved the little details and quips throughout the book。 I also enjoyed the common misconceptions bits。 A few of them I did know （like the one on IQ） but I found them really interesting。My favorite chapter I would have to say was on hacking luck， although， I can't say that I am a big fan of Airbnb， as they decimated the housing unaffordability here in Vancouver from parasites owning multiple properties which mostly sit empty。I was also fascinated by the dating chapter。 Another chapter that can really change your life is the one on experiences and enjoyment activities。 I definitely got a lot out of that one！Another excellent book。 I look forward to his next！Check this out！4。5/5 。。。more

Faith Larson ，

Fantastic read。

Cesar F ，

Interesting facts that are not so obvious without having data

Zach ，

A handful of interesting findings packaged in too many words， like reading a curated selection of SEO-optimized blog posts by a smart and competent writer。 Check the table of contents first to make sure the findings will be relevant to your interests。 That's all this is， but it doesn't pretend to be anything more。 A handful of interesting findings packaged in too many words， like reading a curated selection of SEO-optimized blog posts by a smart and competent writer。 Check the table of contents first to make sure the findings will be relevant to your interests。 That's all this is， but it doesn't pretend to be anything more。 。。。more

Daniel Schulte ，

I have seriously mixed feelings about this book。 I'm giving it 4 stars because I feel like it's a good book， but I also really want to give it 3 stars because part of me thought it was only okay。 I wish I could remember the concrete reasoning/examples that make me dislike this book， but without those I'm left with the fact that it was pretty interesting。 Forgettable， but interesting。 I have seriously mixed feelings about this book。 I'm giving it 4 stars because I feel like it's a good book， but I also really want to give it 3 stars because part of me thought it was only okay。 I wish I could remember the concrete reasoning/examples that make me dislike this book， but without those I'm left with the fact that it was pretty interesting。 Forgettable， but interesting。 。。。more

Jeremi ，

Data can predict behaviors on a larger scale。 The goal of the author was probably to get me to Not trust my gut and not be part of the statistics as the cover art suggests。 Well done

Erin ，

Meh。 It was pretty much like his first book all over again， with a lot of the same points。 He is also super focused on male genitalia。

Sean Shin ，

"FACT FULLNESS" for 2022。But not so hard to read like it。 Data for everyone， easily explained and funny sometimes （light jokes by personal experience too 😅） And especially interesting sentences: the last chapter about to be "Happy"， adding and subtracting like a Math。。。Good to enjoy a "real facts" instead of "what the press wants to show"。 Goodreads！ "FACT FULLNESS" for 2022。But not so hard to read like it。 Data for everyone， easily explained and funny sometimes （light jokes by personal experience too 😅） And especially interesting sentences: the last chapter about to be "Happy"， adding and subtracting like a Math。。。Good to enjoy a "real facts" instead of "what the press wants to show"。 Goodreads！ 。。。more

Jessica Woodward ，

Interesting book。 I enjoyed reading about the data trends of other people。 However， some of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt， such as the activities that make people the happiest。 Not the best read but not the worst。

Kevin Marler ，

Nothing ground breaking - but a fun， interesting read。 I’d recommend it as a worthwhile read for some of the examples and stories， but I can’t say it answers any of life’s big questions。

Sean Wiseman ，

A decent read that presents some interesting findings， but don't expect to learn anything that you wouldn't already have figured out without using the studies/data the author cites。 Fortunately， it is any easy read as well so won't cost you a ton of time。 A decent read that presents some interesting findings， but don't expect to learn anything that you wouldn't already have figured out without using the studies/data the author cites。 Fortunately， it is any easy read as well so won't cost you a ton of time。 。。。more

Daniel Verderese ，

Some interesting talking points but feels a bit disjointed and didn’t keep me engaged the whole time

Violeta Misheva ，

It was a very easy and engaging read。 As a former economist and current data nerd， I did enjoy the book though I understand many reviewers’ comments that it is not per se a self- help book as it proclaims to be。 I’d rate it 3。5 overall as it was not as engaging and creative as ‘Everybody lies’。

Kate ，

I really liked Everybody Lies and I think I was hoping this would be like that。 Instead it is more of a data-drive self-help guide to hacking life。 I'm not big on self-help books， data driven or not。 Also a lot of the answers here seem to be "we don't know。" Which is fine for scientific analysis， but weird for self-help。 Additionally， Stephens-Davidowitz really seems to want to insert himself into the narrative a lot。 I think this is meant to make the narrative feel more personal， but a lot of t I really liked Everybody Lies and I think I was hoping this would be like that。 Instead it is more of a data-drive self-help guide to hacking life。 I'm not big on self-help books， data driven or not。 Also a lot of the answers here seem to be "we don't know。" Which is fine for scientific analysis， but weird for self-help。 Additionally， Stephens-Davidowitz really seems to want to insert himself into the narrative a lot。 I think this is meant to make the narrative feel more personal， but a lot of the time it just feels either awkward or irritating。 。。。more

Vojtech ，

It's a funny thing， I listened to this book some months back and while I remember it being an interesting listen， it didn't really leave any lasting impressions。 That's often a sad fact with these kinds of self improvement books。 It's a funny thing， I listened to this book some months back and while I remember it being an interesting listen， it didn't really leave any lasting impressions。 That's often a sad fact with these kinds of self improvement books。 。。。more

Haley ，

Claims to be “data science turned into self help，” but more like “random statistics that are mildly interesting， too specific to be practical， and possibly just correlation”。 Interesting stats/claims:- “The word “you” was twelve times more likely to appear in the most underlined sentences than other sentences。 People， in other words， really like sentences that include the word “you。””- “Parents， as surprising as it seems… have only small effects on: Life expectancy， Overall health， Education， Re Claims to be “data science turned into self help，” but more like “random statistics that are mildly interesting， too specific to be practical， and possibly just correlation”。 Interesting stats/claims:- “The word “you” was twelve times more likely to appear in the most underlined sentences than other sentences。 People， in other words， really like sentences that include the word “you。””- “Parents， as surprising as it seems… have only small effects on: Life expectancy， Overall health， Education， Religiosity， Adult income。”- “Hinge users are 11。3 percent more likely to match with someone who shares their initials。” 。。。more

Cari ，

This is one of those serendipitous books I pulled off the new shelf to be changed to not-new。 I find a lot of good nonfiction that way。 As an extremely nerdy data person， I liked the idea of using data to change the way I react to different situations。 Almost like mindfulness--using an objective viewpoint of a situation to remove me from the emotional part of it。 Even for the stuff I don't need （such as dating profiles）， I found the information super interesting。 Recommended specifically for tho This is one of those serendipitous books I pulled off the new shelf to be changed to not-new。 I find a lot of good nonfiction that way。 As an extremely nerdy data person， I liked the idea of using data to change the way I react to different situations。 Almost like mindfulness--using an objective viewpoint of a situation to remove me from the emotional part of it。 Even for the stuff I don't need （such as dating profiles）， I found the information super interesting。 Recommended specifically for those of us who like spreadsheets。 。。。more

tpg0 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions， but based on my analysis， 'Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life' is a self-help book written by Brent Dykes。 The book takes a data-driven approach to decision-making and argues that relying on intuition， biases， and assumptions can lead to poor choices。 Instead， the author suggests using data， analytics， and experimentation to make informed decisions and achieve your goals。 The book provides practical strategies for gathering and analyzing data and includes real-life examples and case studies。 Overall， 'Don't Trust Your Gut' could be a valuable resource for individuals seeking to make evidence-based choices in their personal or professional lives。

tpg1 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions or preferences， but I can provide an overview of the book 'Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life'。 Written by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers， this book challenges the idea of trusting our instincts and relying on intuition。 Instead， the authors suggest using data and evidence-based decision making to achieve success in various aspects of life， from career and relationships to health and finance。 The book takes a practical approach and provides actionable insights and tools for readers to apply in their daily lives。 The authors break down complex economic concepts into simple terms and use real-world examples to illustrate their points。 Overall， 'Don't Trust Your Gut' is a thought-provoking read that encourages readers to question their own assumptions and biases and make informed decisions based on objective data。

tpg2 ，

As an AI language model， I cannot develop a personal opinion。 However， "Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life" is a book that explores the idea of using data to make more informed decisions in life， instead of relying solely on intuition or gut feelings。 The book argues that data-driven decision-making can lead to better outcomes， whether it's in business， relationships or personal goals。 It provides practical tips and examples for how to collect and analyze data， and how to use it to make more objective and successful choices in life。 It may be an interesting read for those who are interested in self-improvement and decision-making。

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Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0