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Little Data
Praise for Little Data
This is a delightful book, one as quirkily insightful as it is entertaining.
— Kirkus Reviews
Little Data turns like an Alfa Romeo racing Formula One. Here, says the title, take a nut of an idea then squeeze it until the juice comes out. Each bit of data here is extracted, transformed, crushed, then palpated back to life. Who knew so much love could be drawn from airports and backpacks, obstacle courses and salami? Schaberg and Yakich are excellent drivers and take the turns with mad skill — a high-speed Dickinson, an autobahn Basho, a freeway Rimbaud.
— NICOLE WALKER, author of Processed Meats
In this glossary of contemporary terms and concepts, deftly and delightfully defamiliarized, the authors reveal an uncanny ability to zoom in on the details of modernity and consider them in such a way that the everyday becomes once again miraculous.
— MATTHEW VOLLMER, author of All of Us Together in the End
Against certainty and smug quantification, Little Data resists the banal commodification of contemporary parenting manuals. By exploring the humility of being human, the sordid failures of our idealisms, and the insoluble paradox of choice, these mini-essays remind us that although test results and quizzes haven’t made people more legible to one another, children still can.
— ALINA STEFANESCU, author of Every Mask I Tried On
CHRISTOPHER SCHABERG is the Director of Public Scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis. His most recent books are Adventure: An Argument for Limits (Bloomsbury, 2023), Fly-Fishing (Duke University Press, 2023), and Pedagogy of the Depressed (Bloomsbury, 2022).
MARK YAKICH is the Gregory F. Curtin S.J., Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans. His most recent books are Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide (Bloomsbury, 2022), Football: An Object Lesson (Bloomsbury, 2022), and Spiritual Exercises (Penguin, 2019).
This is a delightful book, one as quirkily insightful as it is entertaining.
— Kirkus Reviews
Little Data turns like an Alfa Romeo racing Formula One. Here, says the title, take a nut of an idea then squeeze it until the juice comes out. Each bit of data here is extracted, transformed, crushed, then palpated back to life. Who knew so much love could be drawn from airports and backpacks, obstacle courses and salami? Schaberg and Yakich are excellent drivers and take the turns with mad skill — a high-speed Dickinson, an autobahn Basho, a freeway Rimbaud.
— NICOLE WALKER, author of Processed Meats
In this glossary of contemporary terms and concepts, deftly and delightfully defamiliarized, the authors reveal an uncanny ability to zoom in on the details of modernity and consider them in such a way that the everyday becomes once again miraculous.
— MATTHEW VOLLMER, author of All of Us Together in the End
Against certainty and smug quantification, Little Data resists the banal commodification of contemporary parenting manuals. By exploring the humility of being human, the sordid failures of our idealisms, and the insoluble paradox of choice, these mini-essays remind us that although test results and quizzes haven’t made people more legible to one another, children still can.
— ALINA STEFANESCU, author of Every Mask I Tried On
CHRISTOPHER SCHABERG is the Director of Public Scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis. His most recent books are Adventure: An Argument for Limits (Bloomsbury, 2023), Fly-Fishing (Duke University Press, 2023), and Pedagogy of the Depressed (Bloomsbury, 2022).
MARK YAKICH is the Gregory F. Curtin S.J., Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans. His most recent books are Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide (Bloomsbury, 2022), Football: An Object Lesson (Bloomsbury, 2022), and Spiritual Exercises (Penguin, 2019).
122 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2024
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 25, 2024
Well, I have an affinity for data and this book fits it perfectly, with the right amount of humor, nonsensical information, and pattern of thought that makes it useful and silly. It will put a smile on your face, for sure, and if you have a mathematician in your circle, they will love this book simply because of the logic involved in each A - Z detailed essay. Love the Laundry essay.
May 2, 2024
An intriguing collection of thoughts, stories, vignettes surrounding our perception of data and how it moves with us through the world, specifically in raising kids. "Forts" and "Zero" were my personal favorites.
May 16, 2024
For fans of Beth Ann Fennelly’s Heating and Cooling, these micro-essays about parenting are are sharp, curious, tender, and perfectly edited.
November 20, 2024
Nice job but I’m scared by the prospect of ever having or being responsible for children so it wasn’t topical for me personally but still good
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews