3 Books Every Data Scientist Should Read To Sharpen Their Decision Making Skills
In the field of Data Science, decisions are everything.
Much has been said about the road from data to information. Less so about how to go from information to decisions. The truth is that all the work that goes into preparing data and even using cutting edge algorithms comes to nothing if it doesn’t translate into better decisions.
Data Science aside, this is a topic that has occupied humanity for a long time. Questions such as:
- How can we make better decisions?
- How can we judge if the decisions we have made were correct or not?
- How can we factor in the randomness of the universe in our decision making process?
This three books discuss this questions and much more on the topic.
Book #1: Thinking In Bets — By A. Duke
Annie Duke presents poker as a metaphor for life.
You have some information that is your own, some information that is shared, and some possible scenarios. You make decisions in that environment and something happens.
Perhaps the one biggest takeaway from this book is: learn to decouple decision quality from the outcomes of your decisions. Sometimes you make the right call but it turns out poorly. Sometimes a bad choice ends up being beneficial.
Don’t confuse the two.
Book #2: Predictably Irrational — By D. Ariely
Classic economic theory doesn’t apply to humans.
In the book, Dan Ariely shows extensively that human beings are irrational. That much won’t surprise anyone. The turn is that not only are we irrational, but we are predictably so.
Essential for anyone interested in behavioral economics.
Book #3: The Missing Billionaires — By V. Haghani and J. White
This is a practical book.
The previous ones illustrate theories with real life situations. This one aims at providing a clear and specific framework for making certain financial decisions. Many books in the investment literature focus on where to put ones money. This book focuses on how much. How much should you save? invest? spend?
Dan Ariely established humans are irrational. Frameworks like this help us make decisions within that fact.
