The Numerati by Stephen Baker
Every day, we produce loads of data about ourselves simply by living in the modern world: we click web pages, flip channels, drive through automatic toll booths, shop with credit cards, and make cell phone calls. Now, in one of the greatest undertakings of the twenty-first century, a savvy group of mathematicians and computer scientists is beginning to sift through this data to dissect us and map out our next steps. Their goal? To manipulate our behavior--what we buy, how we vote--without our even realizing it. In this tour de force of original reporting and analysis, journalist Stephen Baker provides us with a fascinating guide to the world we're all entering--and to the people controlling that world. The Numerati have infiltrated every realm of human affairs, profiling us as workers, shoppers, patients, voters, potential terrorists--even lovers. The implications are vast. Our privacy evaporates. Our bosses can monitor and measure our every move--then reward or punish us. Politicians can find the swing voters among us. It can sound scary. But the Numerati can also work on our behalf, diagnosing an illness before we're aware of the symptoms or even helping us find our soul mate. Surprising, enlightening, and deeply relevant, The Numerati shows how a powerful new endeavor--the mathematical modeling of humanity--will transform every aspect of our lives.For eleven years, Stephen Baker worked for BusinessWeek as a senior technology writer, covering topics such as the data economy, wireless technology, and cloud computing. The Numerati, his first nonfiction work, foreshadowed the Big Data era. He then went on to play Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine. Watson, IBM's Jeopardy-playing computer, is the subject of Machine and the Quest to Know Everything. He talked about artificial intelligence and how technology would affect the way people think and interact in the future.
Baker worked as a journalist in New York, Paris, Mexico City, and along the US-Mexico border. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times, in addition to BusinessWeek. He obtained a bachelor's degree in science from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. His home is in Montclair, New Jersey, where he lives with his family.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780547247939 |
| ISBN 10 | 0547247931 |
| Title | The Numerati |
| Author | Stephen Baker |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Mariner Books |
| Year published | 2009-09-09 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |