I love audiobooks, but I could not get into this one as much as I wanted to and I considered putting it down at least once. I plan on checking out Jer's work, and I may consider reading "Living in Data" in the future, but even with a restart, I was unable to digest Thorp's book by listening to it.

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.

I learned a lot about art and its intersection with big data, both good and bad. One of the most engaging and informative nonfiction books I have read.

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.

A fascinating look at how data shapes our lives, even when we don't realize it. The author does a great job of making data more approachable and understandable, without 'dumbing it down' too much. The real world applications that are highlighted keep things interesting and demonstrate the power of information.

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.