Calling Bullshit

It’s not just fake news. Bullshit is everywhere. Now, two science professors give us the tools to dismantle misinformation and think clearly in a data-saturated world.

The world is awash in bullshit, and we’re drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. These days, calling bullshit...

It’s not just fake news. Bullshit is everywhere. Now, two science professors give us the tools to dismantle misinformation and think clearly in a data-saturated world.

The world is awash in bullshit, and we’re drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. These days, calling bullshit is a noble act.

Based on Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West’s popular course at the University of Washington, Calling Bullshit is a modern handbook to the art of skepticism. Bergstrom, a computational biologist, and West, an information scientist, catalogue bullshit in its many forms, explaining and offering readers the tools to see through the obfuscations, deliberate and careless, that dominate every realm of our lives. They instruct readers to ask:

• Who is saying it?

• How do they know?

• What do they have to gain by persuading me?

• Are the numbers or results too good or too dramatic to be true?

• Is the claim comparing like with like or apples and oranges?

• Is it confirming your personal bias?

In this lively guide to everything from misleading statistics to “fake news,” Bergstrom and West help you recognize bullshit whenever and wherever you encounter it–in data, in conversation, even within yourself–and explain it to your crystal-loving aunt or casually racist uncle. Now more than ever, calling bullshit is crucial to a properly functioning community, whether it be a circle of friends, a network of academics, or the citizenry of a nation.

卡尔·伯格斯特龙（Carl Bergstrom）

美国华盛顿大学生物学系教授。他研究流行病如何在人群中传播，以及信息如何大规模地在生物和社会系统中流动——从细胞内对基因表达的控制到社交媒体上错误信息的传播。他最为人所知的是跨界整合自然科学和社会科学思想的能力，特别是在信息研究领域造诣很深。2010年以来，他发表了多篇前瞻性的文章，涉及信息科学、计算机科学、控制论、进化生物学、信息论、科学哲学、物理学等方面。其中有很多都发表在《自然》《科学》《美国国家科学院院刊》上。

杰文·韦斯特（Jevin D.West）

美国华盛顿大学信息学院副教授、公众知情中心主任。