Super Crunchers Interview with Ian Ayres
August 29, 2007
In this podcast, I talk with Ian Ayres, author of Super Crunchers: How Thinking by Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart. The book is a great survey of how analytical tools are allowing us to reach a whole new set of understandings about how the world works. Netflix uses regression to figure out what movie you may like, as eHarmony does the same for mates.
In this podcast, I talk with Ian Ayres, author of Super Crunchers: How Thinking by Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart.
The book is a great survey of how analytical tools are allowing us to reach a whole new set of understandings about how the world works. Netflix uses regression to figure out what movie you may like, as eHarmony does the same for mates. Randomization allows JoAnn Fabrics to figure out if the picture of a sewing machine or a starburst with 20% will work better at getting customer to buy. Governments, medicine and filmmakers are all making use of Super Crunching.
Ian and I talk about tools, the wisdom of crowds, when super crunching doesn't work, and how he used all of this to improve his book.
[podcast]http://www.800ceoread.com/blog/audio/supercrunchersinterview.mp3[/podcast]