Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science

Summary

There is no doubt science is currently suffering from a credibility crisis.

This thought-provoking book argues that, ironically, science’s credibility is being undermined by tools created by scientists themselves.

Scientific disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories are rife because of the Internet that science created, the scientific demand for empirical evidence and statistical significance leads to data torturing and confirmation bias, and data mining is fuelled by the technological advances in Big Data and the development of ever-increasingly powerful computers.

With accessible examples ranging from COVID disinformation to bitcoin and conspiracy theories, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society’s growing distrust of science, and ultimately, through constructive suggestions, paves the way forward for restoring the credibility of the scientific community.