Big data is a concern for all of us - and in an age of information overload it is relevant on both a micro scale (how do I sort out what is relevant from what is not) and a macro scale (how are companies/governments using the massive amounts of data they collect, and to what extent do I trust their motives/decision making process). This book does a good job of explaining why misinformation is so good at spreading, and cautions the reader against making quick, easy assumptions, yet it never quite delivers on its premise of training scientific habits of mind. Some of the points made, while clear if you are already familiar with the topic, are less clear to a new reader than they might be. Overall this is an important text that could be slightly more forceful in its conclusions, and guide the reader through what is a difficult topic.

Overall, I found this book very heavy going and often put it down and came back to it after a few weeks. This was probably due to the manner in which some of the concepts were discussed, as the author assumed a shared understanding of complex mathematical concepts as the author.

Although there were some nice examples of how to look beyond the surface popular science in the media, I have read other titles on critical thinking which I have found to be far more accessible and useful for me on a personal level.