The Model Thinker (Basic Books)

How anyone can become a data ninjaFrom the stock market to genomics laboratories, census figures to marketing email blasts, we are awash with data. But as anyone who has ever opened up a spreadsheet packed with seemingly infinite lines of data knows, numbers aren't enough: we need to know how to make those numbers talk.

In The Model Thinker, social scientist Scott E. Page shows us the mathematical, statistical, and computational models--from linear regression to random walks and far beyond--that can turn anyone into a genius.

At the core of the book is Page's "many-model paradigm," which shows the reader how to apply multiple models to organize the data, leading to wiser choices, more accurate predictions, and more robust designs.

The Model Thinker provides a toolkit for business people, students, scientists, pollsters, and bloggers to make them better, clearer thinkers, able to leverage data and information to their advantage.