Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, who has written accessibly about music and organization and attention and multitasking, now turns his focus on how we can interpret both visual and linguistic information. The first third of the book helps us appreciate that we are pattern seekers, which paradoxically makes us suckers for a deceptive graph or chart. Levitin shows the many tricks used by graphmakers to lead us to a particular interpretation of the data they are representing. Part two helps us recognize the many tricks–intentional or otherwise–used by wordsmiths that can lead us astray. Part three reminds us of some of the workings of science and probability that can help us not be tricked by the “lies” presented to us.
–Matt, Annie Bloom’s Books, Portland, OR
You probably don’t rely on algorithms to tell you what’s real and what’s fake, what’s true and what’s false; you read and analyze books from Annie Bloom’s and other independent bookstores. Thanks for shopping locally and thinking critically.