Winning with Data

Year read: 2017
How strongly I recommend it: 8/10

(See my list of books I've read, for more.)

Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews.

  • Survivorship bias – survives thus it’s superior
    • Example: planes returning from war with holes in their tail. You shouldn’t improve the tails of the surviving planes but improve the places that caused the other planes to crash.
  • Anchoring bias – tying someone to figure, etc. by stating it first
    • Example: Was Ghandi older than 115 years? You’re more likely to guess close to 115 than if 40 was used.
  • Making decisions based on data is better than making them based on opinions.
  • “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.” – St. Augustine
  • “When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions, even if this new information is obviously more accurate.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb