Be Careful! That is Probably Bullshit! Review of Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West

How can we begin to grasp the scope and scale of our new data-rich world, and can we truly comprehend what is at stake? This book explores the intricacies of data creation and charts how data-driven technologies have become essential to how society, government and the economy work. Creatively blending scholarly analysis, biography and fiction, the book demonstrates how data are shaped by social and political forces, and the extent to which they influence our daily lives. The book begins with an overview of the sociality of data. Data-driven endeavours are as much a result of human values, desires, and social relations as they are scientific principles and technologies. The data revolution has been transforming work and the economy, the nature of consumption, the management and governance of society, how we communicate and interact with media and each other, and forms of play and leisure. Indeed, our lives are saturated with digital devices and services that generate, process, and share vast quantities of data. The book reveals the many, complex, contested ways in which data are produced and circulated, as well as the consequences of living in a data-driven world. The book concludes with an exploration as to what kind of data future we want to create and strategies for realizing our visions. It highlights the need to enact 'a digital ethics of care', and to claim and assert 'data sovereignty'. Ultimately, the book reveals our data world to be one of potential danger, but also of hope.

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Mindful words: How do our stories change when we read about mindfulness? A narrative inquiry

10.26686/wgtn.17072387 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Julia Watkin

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Transformative Learning ◽

Narrative Inquiry ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Research Literature ◽

Wide Audience ◽

Daily Lives ◽

State Of Mind ◽

Process Perspective ◽

Positive Effect

This narrative inquiry tells the stories of four women who read an online blog about mindfulness for three weeks and shared their reflections of the experience. It investigates the role that reading plays in the development of mindfulness—a process that has not featured previously in the research literature. The women in this study were recruited via social media, and all were motivated to learn more about mindfulness and how it could have a positive effect on their daily lives. Data was collected via questionnaires on their understanding of mindfulness and their state of mind prior to, and following the completion of, the project. The women also submitted written reflections, based on their reading and experience of each blog post. Analysis involved coding the data and forming it into individual narratives, written in their own words. The narratives were then deconstructed to investigate their association to the transformative learning process—perspective, experience, reflection, meaning making, and interpretation. The results showed that the women did, indeed, have transformative learning experiences, although the sustainability of such change needs further investigation. Despite limitations, these stories suggest that reading about mindfulness deserves a higher profile—and that the use of a digital platform to host written mindfulness content has the potential to positively affect a wide audience.

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Mindful words: How do our stories change when we read about mindfulness? A narrative inquiry

10.26686/wgtn.17072387.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Julia Watkin

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Transformative Learning ◽

Narrative Inquiry ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Research Literature ◽

Wide Audience ◽

Daily Lives ◽

State Of Mind ◽

Process Perspective ◽

Positive Effect

This narrative inquiry tells the stories of four women who read an online blog about mindfulness for three weeks and shared their reflections of the experience. It investigates the role that reading plays in the development of mindfulness—a process that has not featured previously in the research literature. The women in this study were recruited via social media, and all were motivated to learn more about mindfulness and how it could have a positive effect on their daily lives. Data was collected via questionnaires on their understanding of mindfulness and their state of mind prior to, and following the completion of, the project. The women also submitted written reflections, based on their reading and experience of each blog post. Analysis involved coding the data and forming it into individual narratives, written in their own words. The narratives were then deconstructed to investigate their association to the transformative learning process—perspective, experience, reflection, meaning making, and interpretation. The results showed that the women did, indeed, have transformative learning experiences, although the sustainability of such change needs further investigation. Despite limitations, these stories suggest that reading about mindfulness deserves a higher profile—and that the use of a digital platform to host written mindfulness content has the potential to positively affect a wide audience.

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Data Lives

10.46692/9781529215649 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rob Kitchin

Keyword(s):

Data Driven ◽

Daily Lives

Rob Kitchin explores how data-driven technologies have become essential to society, government and the economy. Blending scholarly analysis, biography and fiction, he demonstrates how data influence our daily lives.

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