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Living in Data: A Citizen's Guide to a Better Information Future
Jer Thorp's analysis of the word "data" in 10,325 New York Times stories written between 1984 and 2018 shows a distinct trend: among the words most closely associated with "data," we find not only its classic companions "information" and "digital," but also a variety of new neighbors--from "scandal" and "misinformation" to "ethics," "friends," and "play."
To live in data in the twenty-first century is to be incessantly extracted from, classified and categorized, statisti-fied, sold, and surveilled. Data--our data--is mined and processed for profit, power, and political gain. In Living in Data, Thorp asks a crucial question of our time: How do we stop passively inhabiting data, and instead become active citizens of it?
Threading a data story through hippo attacks, glaciers, and school gymnasiums, around colossal rice piles, and over active minefields, Living in Data reminds us that the future of data is still wide open, that there are ways to transcend facts and figures and to find more visceral ways to engage with data, that there are always new stories to be told about how data can be used.
Punctuated with Thorp's original and informative illustrations, Living in Data not only redefines what data is, but reimagines who gets to speak its language and how to use its power to create a more just and democratic future. Timely and inspiring, Living in Data gives us a much-needed path forward.
To live in data in the twenty-first century is to be incessantly extracted from, classified and categorized, statisti-fied, sold, and surveilled. Data--our data--is mined and processed for profit, power, and political gain. In Living in Data, Thorp asks a crucial question of our time: How do we stop passively inhabiting data, and instead become active citizens of it?
Threading a data story through hippo attacks, glaciers, and school gymnasiums, around colossal rice piles, and over active minefields, Living in Data reminds us that the future of data is still wide open, that there are ways to transcend facts and figures and to find more visceral ways to engage with data, that there are always new stories to be told about how data can be used.
Punctuated with Thorp's original and informative illustrations, Living in Data not only redefines what data is, but reimagines who gets to speak its language and how to use its power to create a more just and democratic future. Timely and inspiring, Living in Data gives us a much-needed path forward.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
July 4, 2021
After sitting with this book a few days I'm not totally sure how I feel about it. It's partially a tour of Thorpe's (interesting!) career, partially a discussion of how disconnected data science can harm, and partially a manifesto around democratizing data. It's very well written and entertaining. But Thorpe seems fuzzy around what democratizing data really means. Is is making sure that data is cleaned and updated and not misleading (as in his discussion of some really interesting revisions at the Library of Congress)? Is it about making sure that the people who analyze data are connected with the people who are producing the data to understand the true context of their analyses? Is it ensuring that data is owned by the people who create it and can't be used to exploit, control, or commodify them/us (as discussed in wonderful detail around the Maori cultural and legal approach to data and movingly around a data workshop in St. Louis)? Is it everything? All of these are really interesting points, but each could have used a book-length treatment. And while his career anecdotes are fascinating, I'm not sure how they fit in other than to illustrate the evolution of his thinking about data?
There is a lot to mull on and unpack here, especially for someone like me who analyzes personal decontextualized quantitative data every day that could, if we go wrong, be used to reduce peoples' quality of life. There's no clear clarion call to action I got form Thorpe, though. Maybe I'm wrong for wanting a simple through-line story to sum up all of his points; data in our lives is far from a simple issue, and maybe my confusion is a good thing as it will keep me thinking about this for a long while.
There is a lot to mull on and unpack here, especially for someone like me who analyzes personal decontextualized quantitative data every day that could, if we go wrong, be used to reduce peoples' quality of life. There's no clear clarion call to action I got form Thorpe, though. Maybe I'm wrong for wanting a simple through-line story to sum up all of his points; data in our lives is far from a simple issue, and maybe my confusion is a good thing as it will keep me thinking about this for a long while.
April 21, 2021
There is no point bringing any preconceived notions to Jer Thorp’s Living in Data. You will be wrong, but rewardingly so. The book is a kind of autobiography, but one focused on data gathering and manipulation. Thorp is a gifted data scientist, though he’ll tell you it’s all just trial and error. He didn’t set out to do this kind of work. He’s not a quant; he has no doctorates. But he is also far more human; there’s a huge dollop of passion that makes all the difference in the world in his personality, in his world, and in his book. He’s exhausting to keep up with.
You might not think of data design as risky or in any way exciting. A lot of sitting around, developing eyestrain. But Thorp gets invited to plunge the depths of the ocean in a deep-diving sub, count elephants in Africa from the air as well as on the ground, and was nearly rammed by a raging hippo in a flimsy boat on the Okavango. He also got to design the 9/11 memorial display by effectively fitting the 2800 names of the victims the way their loved ones asked for them to be remembered, and went on to design data displays for the New York Times, including the tracking of social media posts of its stories. He created his own school to show others the way to use all their creative juices in the pursuit of displaying data. Among other things, data can be art. This is a whole ‘nother universe from the discussions of data we are accustomed to.
If that weren’t enough, he is a passionate liberal Canadian who appreciates the environmental issues, the human issues, and the social issues. It is all on display in the ever-mutating Living in Data, his first book.
Not knowing what to expect, I was locked in by the first few pages, which jumped from mood-setting story to story like an avant garde film. Thorp draws you in with ever-changing scenery, then abandons it all for another scene somewhere else in the world. He also likes to break the fourth wall, by suddenly addressing the reader directly:
“I promise that you’ll only read the phrase ‘big data’ once in this chapter, and it’s already over.”
Despite the fact big data is a term and not a phrase, this is a delightful departure from the expected. It appears in a paragraph describing why data became a collective noun – now known as mass nouns for some reason. Both singular and plural are in common use for data, whether that’s right or wrong. So on top of everything else, there is semantics. Also Greek and Latin origin stories, and the occasional dalliance into fiction, particularly Star Trek. The book does not lack for variety.
The thing about data is it can be anything. If someone records the number of steps an ant takes per minute, that is potential data stored somewhere for someone to employ. Thorp is hyper-conscious of data. He sees it in everything, from its problem-solving aspects to its problematic issues. He truly lives in data, so an invitation to see his world is revealing.
He deals with the foundations early and gets past them quickly. Data, he says, is a human artifact, a system and a process. Not a thing, not an algorithm, not a spreadsheet. It is what people do with it that makes it data.
To delve deeper, Thorp examines the way our brains work and how data design takes place:
“There’s an important difference between the way neural networks work and the way a standard computer program does. With a run-of-the-mill program like a decision tree, we push a set of data and a list of rules into our code-based machine, and out comes an answer. With neural networks, we push in a set of data and answers, and out comes a rule.”
Data is all about rules. Thorp can take any data dump, write some code to apply rules to it and wait to see what comes back. Then he’ll change the rules, again and again, until he gets what he expected or wanted, or that could take him in a new and value-added direction.
So it’s the human brain that makes the data valuable. Computers just crunch records the brain could never handle. To prove it, Thorp delves into how we appreciate numbers, like money, or miles, or population. Beyond small numbers, we simply cannot visualize them, let alone extract a variety of salient facts from them in our heads. Computers do the bidding of the brain; both are needed to make data useful and presentable.
He has two rules for data, which address the angst we continually read about over privacy and ownership: No data collection without representation, and when in doubt, don’t collect data. Very sensible, and totally ignored, as he well knows.
He discusses the issue of open data, of which there is far too little, and what is there is generally inadequate when not invisible. Everyone seems to qualify open data, so that it has numerous restrictions on it. This varies from source to source and jurisdiction, making a mockery of the concept of openness. He gives the example of the elephant survey in Africa, which had to obtain permission from a handful of countries they roam across. The countries all put different restrictions on the data, according to their local politics and sensitivities, making it difficult to be made accessible. Sometimes the reason is a really good one, like preventing poachers from learning where a family of rhinos was discovered. So unfortunately, open can be simply a goal, or an ideal.
In some ways, because the book is so many things, it is all too much. Thorp loves describing scenes in glorious detail, from the biting ants to the skin-cutting plants, the air, the water, and the sounds. This makes him much more than a data scientist. But if you’re reading to find ideas on data management and design, it can be annoying, and frankly, skippable. There are relatively few conclusions one can draw from reading it. It is far more of an adventure than expected, but also less impactful than desired. But it’s a wonderful life.
He does a lot of work with indigenous groups, in the USA and in New Zealand, recapturing and digitizing old recordings and designing systems to access and display them, and make them accessible and useful. Often for the first time ever. The biggest sticking point seems to be copyright; indigenous groups want to know who is accessing and employing data about them, and especially, who is profiting from it. He is a big supporter of those being taken advantage of, and a so a lot of his work is the feel good kind. The last paragraph in the book begins:
“Every word on every page of this book rests on top of the work done by decades of researchers and scholars and artists and activists—largely women of color—who saw the mess we were making with data, and to whom we mostly didn’t listen.” Which I think describes Thorp’s life, persona and attitudes quite neatly.
David Wineberg
You might not think of data design as risky or in any way exciting. A lot of sitting around, developing eyestrain. But Thorp gets invited to plunge the depths of the ocean in a deep-diving sub, count elephants in Africa from the air as well as on the ground, and was nearly rammed by a raging hippo in a flimsy boat on the Okavango. He also got to design the 9/11 memorial display by effectively fitting the 2800 names of the victims the way their loved ones asked for them to be remembered, and went on to design data displays for the New York Times, including the tracking of social media posts of its stories. He created his own school to show others the way to use all their creative juices in the pursuit of displaying data. Among other things, data can be art. This is a whole ‘nother universe from the discussions of data we are accustomed to.
If that weren’t enough, he is a passionate liberal Canadian who appreciates the environmental issues, the human issues, and the social issues. It is all on display in the ever-mutating Living in Data, his first book.
Not knowing what to expect, I was locked in by the first few pages, which jumped from mood-setting story to story like an avant garde film. Thorp draws you in with ever-changing scenery, then abandons it all for another scene somewhere else in the world. He also likes to break the fourth wall, by suddenly addressing the reader directly:
“I promise that you’ll only read the phrase ‘big data’ once in this chapter, and it’s already over.”
Despite the fact big data is a term and not a phrase, this is a delightful departure from the expected. It appears in a paragraph describing why data became a collective noun – now known as mass nouns for some reason. Both singular and plural are in common use for data, whether that’s right or wrong. So on top of everything else, there is semantics. Also Greek and Latin origin stories, and the occasional dalliance into fiction, particularly Star Trek. The book does not lack for variety.
The thing about data is it can be anything. If someone records the number of steps an ant takes per minute, that is potential data stored somewhere for someone to employ. Thorp is hyper-conscious of data. He sees it in everything, from its problem-solving aspects to its problematic issues. He truly lives in data, so an invitation to see his world is revealing.
He deals with the foundations early and gets past them quickly. Data, he says, is a human artifact, a system and a process. Not a thing, not an algorithm, not a spreadsheet. It is what people do with it that makes it data.
To delve deeper, Thorp examines the way our brains work and how data design takes place:
“There’s an important difference between the way neural networks work and the way a standard computer program does. With a run-of-the-mill program like a decision tree, we push a set of data and a list of rules into our code-based machine, and out comes an answer. With neural networks, we push in a set of data and answers, and out comes a rule.”
Data is all about rules. Thorp can take any data dump, write some code to apply rules to it and wait to see what comes back. Then he’ll change the rules, again and again, until he gets what he expected or wanted, or that could take him in a new and value-added direction.
So it’s the human brain that makes the data valuable. Computers just crunch records the brain could never handle. To prove it, Thorp delves into how we appreciate numbers, like money, or miles, or population. Beyond small numbers, we simply cannot visualize them, let alone extract a variety of salient facts from them in our heads. Computers do the bidding of the brain; both are needed to make data useful and presentable.
He has two rules for data, which address the angst we continually read about over privacy and ownership: No data collection without representation, and when in doubt, don’t collect data. Very sensible, and totally ignored, as he well knows.
He discusses the issue of open data, of which there is far too little, and what is there is generally inadequate when not invisible. Everyone seems to qualify open data, so that it has numerous restrictions on it. This varies from source to source and jurisdiction, making a mockery of the concept of openness. He gives the example of the elephant survey in Africa, which had to obtain permission from a handful of countries they roam across. The countries all put different restrictions on the data, according to their local politics and sensitivities, making it difficult to be made accessible. Sometimes the reason is a really good one, like preventing poachers from learning where a family of rhinos was discovered. So unfortunately, open can be simply a goal, or an ideal.
In some ways, because the book is so many things, it is all too much. Thorp loves describing scenes in glorious detail, from the biting ants to the skin-cutting plants, the air, the water, and the sounds. This makes him much more than a data scientist. But if you’re reading to find ideas on data management and design, it can be annoying, and frankly, skippable. There are relatively few conclusions one can draw from reading it. It is far more of an adventure than expected, but also less impactful than desired. But it’s a wonderful life.
He does a lot of work with indigenous groups, in the USA and in New Zealand, recapturing and digitizing old recordings and designing systems to access and display them, and make them accessible and useful. Often for the first time ever. The biggest sticking point seems to be copyright; indigenous groups want to know who is accessing and employing data about them, and especially, who is profiting from it. He is a big supporter of those being taken advantage of, and a so a lot of his work is the feel good kind. The last paragraph in the book begins:
“Every word on every page of this book rests on top of the work done by decades of researchers and scholars and artists and activists—largely women of color—who saw the mess we were making with data, and to whom we mostly didn’t listen.” Which I think describes Thorp’s life, persona and attitudes quite neatly.
David Wineberg
October 21, 2021
I had no idea that such a poetic book could be written around topics such as data sovereignty or surveillance. Here is a book that brings fiction together with ethical considerations when dealing with data and information. Jer Thorp shares his experience as a data artist at places like The New York Times, National Geographic or his own studio, the Office for Creative Research, which he directed for nearly a decade. During that time he cultivated an idea and practice that I couldn't envy more: total exploration!
"I became captivated with what I call "question farming": using visualization not to simplify something but to unfurl its complexities in interesting ways, exposing things that weren't before able to be seen."
It's a book suitable both for people that already live in "dataland", but also for the ones who heard about this place that continues to grow everyday. We'll all end up living there sooner than later and one important message of this book is to think how we want our future in dataland to be like. Jer Thorp reminds us that the future of data is still open and now is the time to think about how we can feel “more citizens than subjects”. In short: a beautiful, engaging and informative book that thinks about our next steps in the information revolution and suggests a future "where we can all data together".
For more detail, please check this interview: https://www.youtube.com/c/DataVisLisb...
"I became captivated with what I call "question farming": using visualization not to simplify something but to unfurl its complexities in interesting ways, exposing things that weren't before able to be seen."
It's a book suitable both for people that already live in "dataland", but also for the ones who heard about this place that continues to grow everyday. We'll all end up living there sooner than later and one important message of this book is to think how we want our future in dataland to be like. Jer Thorp reminds us that the future of data is still open and now is the time to think about how we can feel “more citizens than subjects”. In short: a beautiful, engaging and informative book that thinks about our next steps in the information revolution and suggests a future "where we can all data together".
For more detail, please check this interview: https://www.youtube.com/c/DataVisLisb...
June 8, 2021
What a great book. Very informative and well written book. Jer Thorp is great author. Though stories and insights you gradually realize the title and focus of this book. What a brilliant book full of personality. I enjoyed learning about Jer Thorp's career as a writer, teacher and artist and figuring out the interesting questions to explore. A must read. I am giving this to my daughter who is in college. I think it will peak her interest. Waiting for your next great book.
June 20, 2021
Great read! A very engaging and accessible exploration of the social and cultural issues that emerge from the centrality of digital data in contemporary society. Thorp’s discussion of various data projects over time are all interesting in their own right and add up to a compelling overall story. Each chapter opens with a different data visualization related to the section and the visualizations are themselves quite interesting.
July 2, 2021
Been awhile since I’ve stopped reading a book, but my time is worth more than this read. Though some reviewers have liked his writing style, I didn’t. He takes far too long to make connections or a larger point, and I found his writing to lack clarity. I kept asking myself, where is this going? And? His anecdotes seemed to be more about congratulating himself for his past data collections and epiphanies than it was about presenting a cogent argument for readers.
February 9, 2021
When we capture data that we observe and apply it to the world around us, what are we doing? We’re putting too much trust in our own point of view and in the ability of data to make a good representation of reality. We’re risking the privacy and safety of humans and other creatures. But we’re also learning about our world more comprehensively than we used to be able to.
Jer Thorp, a data artist with a science background, argues that we must think carefully and humbly about what information we capture, how we process it and use it, and how we communicate what we learn from it. “Potential harms seem impossible,” he points out, “when you don’t inhabit the futures in which they happen.” More than that, the people affected by the capturing have the rights to their own data. Māori genetic information belongs to Māori people, not to the scientists who gather it.
Beyond the ethics and the quantum observer issues with collecting data, Living in Data points out some breathtaking ways of communicating about it. One artist, for example, led his studio in using individual grains of rice (counted in a representative sample) to represent all the people in the world. That took over a quarter million pounds of rice, four tractor trailers full. The people of St. Louis gathered around, and walked on, 10x10ft maps of the city after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson. They told their own stories on this new canvas.
Living in Data offers interwoven vignettes about the role data plays in our lives, past and present. It’s a conversation starter, excellent for book clubs interested in nonfiction, and while I may not change anything about how I attempt to handle my own data, I’ll be more aware of how data-related issues affect justice, privacy, ecology, the sovereignty of communities, and everything else.
I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.
Jer Thorp, a data artist with a science background, argues that we must think carefully and humbly about what information we capture, how we process it and use it, and how we communicate what we learn from it. “Potential harms seem impossible,” he points out, “when you don’t inhabit the futures in which they happen.” More than that, the people affected by the capturing have the rights to their own data. Māori genetic information belongs to Māori people, not to the scientists who gather it.
Beyond the ethics and the quantum observer issues with collecting data, Living in Data points out some breathtaking ways of communicating about it. One artist, for example, led his studio in using individual grains of rice (counted in a representative sample) to represent all the people in the world. That took over a quarter million pounds of rice, four tractor trailers full. The people of St. Louis gathered around, and walked on, 10x10ft maps of the city after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson. They told their own stories on this new canvas.
Living in Data offers interwoven vignettes about the role data plays in our lives, past and present. It’s a conversation starter, excellent for book clubs interested in nonfiction, and while I may not change anything about how I attempt to handle my own data, I’ll be more aware of how data-related issues affect justice, privacy, ecology, the sovereignty of communities, and everything else.
I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.
February 9, 2021
When we capture data that we observe and apply it to the world around us, what are we doing? We’re putting too much trust in our own point of view and in the ability of data to make a good representation of reality. We’re risking the privacy and safety of humans and other creatures. But we’re also learning about our world more comprehensively than we used to be able to.
Jer Thorp, a data artist with a science background, argues that we must think carefully and humbly about what information we capture, how we process it and use it, and how we communicate what we learn from it. “Potential harms seem impossible,” he points out, “when you don’t inhabit the futures in which they happen.” More than that, the people affected by the capturing have the rights to their own data. Māori genetic information belongs to Māori people, not to the scientists who gather it.
Beyond the ethics and the quantum observer issues with collecting data, Living in Data points out some breathtaking ways of communicating about it. One artist, for example, led his studio in using individual grains of rice (counted in a representative sample) to represent all the people in the world. That took over a quarter million pounds of rice, four tractor trailers full. The people of St. Louis gathered around, and walked on, 10x10ft maps of the city after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson. They told their own stories on this new canvas.
Living in Data offers interwoven vignettes about the role data plays in our lives, past and present. It’s a conversation starter, excellent for book clubs interested in nonfiction, and while I may not change anything about how I attempt to handle my own data, I’ll be more aware of how data-related issues affect justice, privacy, ecology, the sovereignty of communities, and everything else.
I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.
Jer Thorp, a data artist with a science background, argues that we must think carefully and humbly about what information we capture, how we process it and use it, and how we communicate what we learn from it. “Potential harms seem impossible,” he points out, “when you don’t inhabit the futures in which they happen.” More than that, the people affected by the capturing have the rights to their own data. Māori genetic information belongs to Māori people, not to the scientists who gather it.
Beyond the ethics and the quantum observer issues with collecting data, Living in Data points out some breathtaking ways of communicating about it. One artist, for example, led his studio in using individual grains of rice (counted in a representative sample) to represent all the people in the world. That took over a quarter million pounds of rice, four tractor trailers full. The people of St. Louis gathered around, and walked on, 10x10ft maps of the city after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson. They told their own stories on this new canvas.
Living in Data offers interwoven vignettes about the role data plays in our lives, past and present. It’s a conversation starter, excellent for book clubs interested in nonfiction, and while I may not change anything about how I attempt to handle my own data, I’ll be more aware of how data-related issues affect justice, privacy, ecology, the sovereignty of communities, and everything else.
I am grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.
October 4, 2021
Lots to wade through here; some of it fascinating and some of it bone dry. Ultimately (and ironically) the most frustrating and perplexing thing about the book is the way the information is presented. It made for a disjointed reading experience that often felt pointless.
July 11, 2021
Kunsteren og programmøren Jer Thorp har i årevis lavet udforskende datavisualiseringer og andre projekter som afsøger hvordan data påvirker vores liv, og i bogen fortæller han om sine mange produktioner – fra analyser af artikler og ord i New York Times til en ekspedition i et afrikansk minefelt.
Noget af det fine ved bogen er, at den balancerer mellem de positive og negative aspekter af vores datafikserede verden.
Jer Thorp går kritisk til vores automat-reaktioner, hvad enten de er paranoide eller jubeloptimistiske, og fortæller i stedet både nøgternt og indsigtsfuldt om hvad data overhovedet er, og hvor vigtigt det er at se på deres kvalitet, kontekst, begrænsninger, anvendelse og så videre.
Noget af det fine ved bogen er, at den balancerer mellem de positive og negative aspekter af vores datafikserede verden.
Jer Thorp går kritisk til vores automat-reaktioner, hvad enten de er paranoide eller jubeloptimistiske, og fortæller i stedet både nøgternt og indsigtsfuldt om hvad data overhovedet er, og hvor vigtigt det er at se på deres kvalitet, kontekst, begrænsninger, anvendelse og så videre.
June 13, 2021
emphasis on the living: finding joy, meaning, surprise, wonder. get the print version - the illustrations/visualizations are so gorgeous and (imo) critical to the experience.
my more fleshed-out review in reboot here!
my more fleshed-out review in reboot here!
January 6, 2024
An essential read for anyone wondering about the origins of data, its evolution, and how we can build a society that promotes open-access to the data we create.
November 12, 2022
The book was a delightful, informative read by an expert in the space. It was also a great motivator for me in my return to volunteer civic hacking on public data sets.
January 15, 2023
This book shows us the possibility of a world where data isn't BIG and isn't harvested, owned and sold by big tech. A world where data can belong to us, and can be "small, intimate, understandable, sovereign, cooperative, fair".
He introduces us to data-colonialism in the form of 'snatch-and-grab science': where data collected in remote environments and communities leads to research prizes and scientific discoveries, but none of the accolades or monetary compensations ever trickle back to those origins. How can communities own their own data? And is your data truly *open* if it's not made for nonprogrammers? For non-English speakers? For people without up-to-date technical equipment?
An interesting and engaging read. It's full of personal data collection stories that Thorp went to install in jungles and on glaciers, of data crunching stories from his desk at the NYT or the short-lived Office for Creative Research, and of data living stories where he brings data back to their communities for collective mapping experiments.
He introduces us to data-colonialism in the form of 'snatch-and-grab science': where data collected in remote environments and communities leads to research prizes and scientific discoveries, but none of the accolades or monetary compensations ever trickle back to those origins. How can communities own their own data? And is your data truly *open* if it's not made for nonprogrammers? For non-English speakers? For people without up-to-date technical equipment?
An interesting and engaging read. It's full of personal data collection stories that Thorp went to install in jungles and on glaciers, of data crunching stories from his desk at the NYT or the short-lived Office for Creative Research, and of data living stories where he brings data back to their communities for collective mapping experiments.
July 7, 2021
This book is fantastic and helped me feel a little less like a weirdo reading about data from the point of view of someone who is also an artist. As a librarian, the nods to archives and libraries in this book are heart-warming. As someone who works in systems and with a background in both art/design and web development this book resonated with me where my conflicting selves always tend to meet. I was glad to read that I’m not alone in my concerns about data, the systems we willingly supply with our personal data, and the ways in which data is shaping all sorts of aspects of our lives. Perhaps my favorite story in the book was the short description of the author looking like an artist sitting across the conference room table from a team of clean-cut suit wearing types and winning the job for visualizing data for the 911 monument of names. Data visualization is a key artform today - this book is also full of wonderful pieces of data art which helps literally illustrate many of the various chapter takeaways. An excellent read that should be required for emerging librarians, particularly systems librarians who more and more are expected to interpret and analyze data.
June 18, 2021
DNF
I was drawn to this audiobook for its insight on data analysis, but it turned out to be more of a narrative story than I expected. The flow of the thoughts were meaningful, but I was looking for something a little more practical that I could apply. It felt too memoir-ish with the chapters full of the author's experiences and accomplishments. Because of this, I did not end up finishing the book.
A copy of this audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was drawn to this audiobook for its insight on data analysis, but it turned out to be more of a narrative story than I expected. The flow of the thoughts were meaningful, but I was looking for something a little more practical that I could apply. It felt too memoir-ish with the chapters full of the author's experiences and accomplishments. Because of this, I did not end up finishing the book.
A copy of this audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 28, 2022
Great book. The book is a great introduction to data for the average person. I picked up the book thinking I would get a new look at how to view data in relation to society. The book is actually a series of practical, well-nuanced examples of the application of data when it's collected from forms, devices, research, and other everyday interactions. I have a degree in computer science, so the book was rudimentary to me.
The most important question it answers is "how does who is working with and collecting data impact the lives of individuals?" Which, when the reader is confronted by the book's anecdotes, gives serious food for thought. Imagine being wiped off of the face of the earth by an individual because your identity(s) didn't fit their data model. The 'scary' part is that you could be subject to decisions, especially policy decisions, made based on the very data that excluded you.
Even if you're experienced in data (an introductory data science, research, or computer science class), then it's really worth the read so you know how to talk about our future in layman's terms. It's especially great to get that perspective from a book that's engaging and an easy-read regardless of your familiarity with the applications of data.
The most important question it answers is "how does who is working with and collecting data impact the lives of individuals?" Which, when the reader is confronted by the book's anecdotes, gives serious food for thought. Imagine being wiped off of the face of the earth by an individual because your identity(s) didn't fit their data model. The 'scary' part is that you could be subject to decisions, especially policy decisions, made based on the very data that excluded you.
Even if you're experienced in data (an introductory data science, research, or computer science class), then it's really worth the read so you know how to talk about our future in layman's terms. It's especially great to get that perspective from a book that's engaging and an easy-read regardless of your familiarity with the applications of data.
May 3, 2022
I really liked the book. Jer Thorp is an amazing writer and made the topic engaging even for someone that had already read several books on the topic.
His examples are constantly illuminating and worth a read.
I especially liked three chapters, the first one in which Jer makes the case to rethink the language around data.
The 8th dome of the limits and constraints we have imposed upon data visualization by searching to constantly following set of rules and best practices and argues for a more humane and free approach to the practice.
The 9th one is also a blast, The rice visualization is something Ive heard of before but never in such a personal way, I really liked a point in the chapter in which Jer writes that a visitor picks a rice up and asks the artists “This one is lost, where does it belong?”. I think it shows the important of making data speak to our emotional core, making it more human and emotional. It’s a blast of a chapter.
Definitely a good book if you are interested in our current data lives!
His examples are constantly illuminating and worth a read.
I especially liked three chapters, the first one in which Jer makes the case to rethink the language around data.
The 8th dome of the limits and constraints we have imposed upon data visualization by searching to constantly following set of rules and best practices and argues for a more humane and free approach to the practice.
The 9th one is also a blast, The rice visualization is something Ive heard of before but never in such a personal way, I really liked a point in the chapter in which Jer writes that a visitor picks a rice up and asks the artists “This one is lost, where does it belong?”. I think it shows the important of making data speak to our emotional core, making it more human and emotional. It’s a blast of a chapter.
Definitely a good book if you are interested in our current data lives!
July 13, 2022
Jer Thorp has had some amazing opportunities that led up to writing his book. Half of the fun reading was learning just about Thorp’s life and experience in the field of data visualization, and the other half came from the many revelations and rigorous presentation of the content.
The ultimate takeaway is the impetus of the book: the data has to find its way back to its source. Data is always taken from a group, which has social implications that change based on the data being collected. For Thorp, that data should find its way back to serving the people it was initially collected from, rather than serving an end to some esoteric publication or inaccessible media.
Of course there are many other provoking ideas; Thorp’s visualization for the World Trade Center memorial is particularly amazing. The analysis of the root of data and the theoretical discussion that continues throughout the book are also very thought provoking.
The ultimate takeaway is the impetus of the book: the data has to find its way back to its source. Data is always taken from a group, which has social implications that change based on the data being collected. For Thorp, that data should find its way back to serving the people it was initially collected from, rather than serving an end to some esoteric publication or inaccessible media.
Of course there are many other provoking ideas; Thorp’s visualization for the World Trade Center memorial is particularly amazing. The analysis of the root of data and the theoretical discussion that continues throughout the book are also very thought provoking.
July 25, 2021
I truly enjoyed this nonfiction work detailing the pitfalls of modern data collection and sharing. I’ve already thought of several ways to apply some of Thorp’s ideas to my work in public health and I found his examples very engaging and useful. We are all subject to data collection and this work raises some very important and relevant questions about who creates it, who views it, and who benefits.
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC!)
Recommended for: folks who work with data collection and visualization, anyone who wants to be a better informed consumer of information.
Categories: Nonfiction, Data Science, Public Health, Public Art
Content Warnings: Privacy, colonization, climate change, racism
December 1, 2021
I enjoyed this book a great deal. The authors brings an amazing life experience to a coherent perspective on how data should be thought of. It is well written, entertaining, thought-provoking. It has a deeply humanistic message, an ambitious view of how people could better live in data in a way that is almost as unimaginable as it is desirable in our world of constant data collection (including this review).
There were a few concepts that stood out for me. One is how collecting and communicating data about a group can have an effect on the members of this group. Another is that data belongs or should belong to the people who are measured. The aspirations of the author are lofty, but justified.
There were a few concepts that stood out for me. One is how collecting and communicating data about a group can have an effect on the members of this group. Another is that data belongs or should belong to the people who are measured. The aspirations of the author are lofty, but justified.
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April 3, 2022If you’re a a liberal, you’ll love it. It’s a typical echo chamber. But sadly that’s all it is, with nary more to offer except selective anecdotes that serve the author’s agenda while ignoring contrary (yet factual) data. Don’t be conned by the “we” in the text. Thorp draws conclusions not found in evidence and based on anecdote. A great irony given both his background the the title of the book. It is though an exemplary example of how, in capable hands, data can lie. But the lie is his own writing, not the social agenda he claims we all universally support.
Why the sudden intellectual weakness as soon as progressive politics are involved? It’s tiring, frankly. It’s time for some real honesty.
Why the sudden intellectual weakness as soon as progressive politics are involved? It’s tiring, frankly. It’s time for some real honesty.
December 6, 2021
Please note: I received this book as a good read’s give away and am giving an honest review.
I found this book to be very informative about the data ethics we currently face. How is data being used? What kind of data is being collected? Will the data being collected help the local population? Are there any negative consequences to collecting this data? Who can/will have access to the data?
All of these questions are addressed. Though solutions are hard to find.
I enjoyed the personal stories and the many adventures Thorp went on as a data collector and visualizer. Would recommend for anyone curious about data ethics.
I found this book to be very informative about the data ethics we currently face. How is data being used? What kind of data is being collected? Will the data being collected help the local population? Are there any negative consequences to collecting this data? Who can/will have access to the data?
All of these questions are addressed. Though solutions are hard to find.
I enjoyed the personal stories and the many adventures Thorp went on as a data collector and visualizer. Would recommend for anyone curious about data ethics.
September 11, 2022
It made me rethink how I've been approaching data work, assuming data is objective and true, but it's not, it's a human act subject to human decisions and errors.
It's a book specially relevant in current times where data is being used to support desinformation campaigns, from discussion of current events to elections
After I put the book down I felt the impulse to play with data viz again, this time not thinking about the constrains and best practices that I've been learning and reading about for the last couple years. It reminded me of how I used to explore datasets and enjoy the process of tweaking and decorating
"data representation of any kind, is a human act, full of human choices"
It's a book specially relevant in current times where data is being used to support desinformation campaigns, from discussion of current events to elections
After I put the book down I felt the impulse to play with data viz again, this time not thinking about the constrains and best practices that I've been learning and reading about for the last couple years. It reminded me of how I used to explore datasets and enjoy the process of tweaking and decorating
"data representation of any kind, is a human act, full of human choices"
January 1, 2023
A really fascinating book to read just before starting a new data science engineering job at one of the biggest technology companies (and data harvesters) in the world. Not once in my Analytics graduate degree program did we discuss any ethical considerations around data collection or agency, algorithm design or results. As such, I found myself wondering and questioning more than internalizing as Jer introduced another factor in the relationship between data collectors and data collectees, so I should (really should) give this a re-read sometime in the near future. Glad I picked this up at my community bookstore!
September 16, 2021
This is a really good book. It’s a sort of biography told through various data projects. Thorp reflects on his life in data, sharing lessons on both the good and the (unintentionally) bad effects data can have. Sometimes he’s commenting on the contemporary data industry as a whole. Every now and then he drops ideas on how to improve our lives in data. For me, this makes it a nice and balanced book.
I think it might be a good introduction into data if you are new to the field, but I’d need to verify that hypothesis.
I think it might be a good introduction into data if you are new to the field, but I’d need to verify that hypothesis.
July 19, 2021
Really enjoyed reading this book! Thorpe is an engaging storyteller, in this case using stories from his own or others' lives to show how data collection can change lives for better or worse. His passion for the subject is apparent and impels us to think of data as more than gathering data points and analysing them, but to assure that what we do with it serves its subjects, ideally involving them in decisions about its collection if possible. Great read and a beautifully designed book!
July 25, 2021
I truly enjoyed this nonfiction work detailing the pitfalls of modern data collection and sharing. I’ve already thought of several ways to apply some of Thorp’s ideas to my work in public health and I found his examples very engaging and useful. We are all subject to data collection and this work raises some very important and relevant questions about who creates it, who views it, and who benefits.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC.
August 12, 2021
I had never heard of Jer Thorp before picking up this book. Yet I feel like I just finished the "Tao of Jer." I could *feel* the wisdom in the writing but am not wise enough myself to grasp it. Speaking of the writing, it was ... smooth, like silk, at odd juxtaposition to the subject matter.
I honestly feel like I just read one of the most important books of the 21st century that might be sending its message out into an empty void. I am feeling very unsettled right now.
I honestly feel like I just read one of the most important books of the 21st century that might be sending its message out into an empty void. I am feeling very unsettled right now.
April 19, 2022
With pen and highlighter in hand I finished this book in just under three days. The author (whose name I could not help but compare to an Ikea bookshelf) has neatly presented several chapters on what it means to live in data. How do we collect it? Who is (or could be) affected/effected by it?
I feel like the only criticism I can offer is this: I could've done with more examples on interdata.
Brilliant work.
I feel like the only criticism I can offer is this: I could've done with more examples on interdata.
Brilliant work.
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