More Numbers Every Day

November 28, 2022
Society’s mania for enumerating every aspect of life is making people confused, stressed out, and unethical, according to this intriguing study. Behavioral economists Dahlen and Thorbjørnsen draw on their own research to investigate the psychological effects of numbers, with astonishing results. People are inclined to think of low numbers when moving backward and high numbers when moving forward; adding “randomly assigned grades” to online dating profiles influences whom one swipes right on; and the spurious authoritativeness of numbers makes people accept ridiculous claims, like a fake scientific report trumpeted by news organizations in 2002 that “the last blond would probably be born in Finland in the year 2202.” Worse, the authors contend, numbers stimulate a cold, self-centered rationality that warps moral character: seeing and handling money generates an “asshole effect” that makes people feel confident, strong, and less concerned with helping others, and people who monitor health data and social media likes are more open to cheating and stealing. Written in lucid, skillfully translated prose that puts the science into philosophical perspective, this shines a fascinating light on the modern-day obsession with numerical quantity over quality.

February 1, 2023
Two professors of marketing and economics launch a well-informed attack on the infallibility of numbers and data. Popular mathematics books tend to belong to the math-is-fun or how-to-lie-with-statistics genres. Dahlen and Thorbj�rnsen, however, offer an ingenious warning that numbers are messing up the world. They are "flirtatious, manipulative, distracting little devils. [They] mislead us and lie. They distort and entice." The authors deliver a steady stream of anecdotes, studies, and historical events that will unsettle even the most skeptical. Readers who roll their eyes when the authors claim that we perceive odd numbers as masculine and even numbers as feminine must explain why so many professional athletes (mostly men) prefer odd numbers on their jerseys. Even though numbers influence our feelings, identities, and interests, "numbers contain not more information than words but less." For example, the authors describe an experiment in which subjects read lengthy, information-rich, flattering reviews of a hotel that received an overall rating of 2. Then they read lukewarm reviews of a hotel that was given a high 5 rating. When asked, they preferred the hotel with the higher number, "clearly influenced more by the number than thewritten praise." To make matters worse, the 21st century has seen an explosion of smartphones, smartwatches, and other logging apps that allow opportunities for self-quantification that Benjamin Franklin could only dream of. Do they work? Studies show that obsessive health monitoring with a Fitbit or Apple Watch improves performance in some users but only slightly. Besides filling the text with suggestions for fending off number mania ("number vaccine advice"), the authors explain that numbers are there to help. That's why they were invented. However, they are only helpful if we remember that they're the product of the human mind and therefore almost always subjective, selective, changeable, different in different cultures, swayed by prejudice and emotion, and often simply wrong. An unnerving but convincing anti-number polemic.

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February 1, 2023

How often every day are people influenced by numbers? Dahlen (Stockholm School of Economics) and Thorbj�rnsen (Norwegian School of Economics) quickly warn that too many people are controlled by numbers. From the number of steps, followers, likes, and friends, numbers are influencing society to measure and compare everything. In each chapter, the reader learns how to determine just how powerful that force is and how one can step back from it and regain control for a happier life. Using research to substantiate their claims, the authors incorporate fascinating tidbits, such as how a number--whether odd or even--can guide one's thinking and actions. A summary of lessons ends each chapter. Featuring a table of contents, an index, and a sources section, the book's structure, humorous tone, and examples make it easy to read and follow for a better quality of life. VERDICT This book is recommended for those interested in self-help, mathematics, and statistics.--Bridgette Whitt

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