The Signal and the Noise: The Art and Science of Prediction

(Paperback)

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Description

The acclaimed international bestseller that will change the way you think about the future Every time we choose a route to work, decide whether to go on a second date, or set aside money for a rainy day, we are making a prediction about the future. Yet from the financial crisis to ecological disasters, we routinely fail to foresee hugely significant events, often at great cost to society. In The Signal and the Noise, the New York Times political forecaster Nate Silver, who accurately predicted the results of every single state in the 2012 US election, reveals how we can all develop better foresight in an uncertain world. From the stock market to the poker table, from earthquakes to the economy, he takes us on an enthralling insider's tour of the high-stakes world of forecasting, showing how we can use information in a smarter way amid a noise of data - and make better predictions in our own lives.

Reviews

Outstanding... I was hooked -- Tim Harford * Financial Times *
One of the more momentous books of the decade * The New York Times Book Review *
A lucid explanation of how to think probabilistically * Guardian *
The inhabitants of Westminster are speed-reading The Signal and the Noise... They will find the book remarkable and rewarding * Sunday Telegraph *
Is there anything now that Nate Silver could tell us that we wouldn't believe * Jonathan Freedland *
Fascinating... our age's Brunel -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *
A surprisingly accessible peek into the world of mathematical probability -- Daily Telegraph
The Galileo of number crunchers * Independent *
A 34-year old Delphic Oracle * Daily Beast *

Author Bio

Nate Silver is a statistician and political forecaster at The New York Times. In 2012, he correctly predicted the outcome of 50 out of 50 states during the US presidential election, trumping the professional pollsters and pundits. He was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the world, and one of Rolling Stones' top Agents of Change. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.