More Numbers Every Day: How Data, Stats, and Figures Control Our Lives and How to Set Ourselves Free

by Micael Dahlén (Narrator), Helge Thorbjørnsen

In the vein of Factfulness, How Not to Be Wrong, and The Drunkard's Walk, a timely and delightful look at how numbers have taken control of our lives and how to get it back, from two rockstar Scandinavian economists who study happiness and creativity How many unread emails are there in your inbox? How many hours of sleep did you get last week? How many steps did you walk today? We're drowning in digits and immersed in integers, and More Numbers Every Day, by internationally renowned economics professors Micael Dahlen and Helge Thorbjørnsen is a timely and powerful investigation -- and warning -- about the trouble numbers can bring us. Today we all strive to quantify everything: calories, likes, website traffic, and even friends. And then we rate things, too: movies, restaurants, taxi drivers, experiences, professors, and dates. We measure ourselves against others and compare our real experiences to imagined averages. But in our rush to measure, we can lose sight of what matters. In this delightful and alarming book, Dahlen and Thorbjørnsen show how we're exposed and infected by an ever-more contagious pandemic of numbers. With groundbreaking, empowering, sometimes frightening, and sometimes funny research, they help us see how numbers creep into our heads and bodies, affecting how we think and feel. When do numbers make us stronger and when do they make us weaker? When do they mislead us? And when do they turn us into narcissistic idiots? Look at the book as your numerical vaccination, for a happier and more numerically healthy life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Audiobook, Economics, Mathematics

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2021

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet, here I am, rating this book.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you remember the days when the only way that you would find out that a restaurant wasn’t that great was if you had been yourself or a close friend had recommended that you avoid it. Now you can google a town and find all the places that you might want to eat at and alongside everyone is a rating that a member of the public has graded it. We naturally gravitate towards those that have a higher rating because that’s where we feel we will have the better experience.

But what if the number that you are seeing isn’t telling the whole truth? Have the glowing five-star reviews been placed by friends of the owner? Have the dreaded one-star ratings been added by rivals with the intention of making their own establishments seem better by comparison?

What is real and what is pure manipulation on the part of the algorithm? Welcome to the numberdemic…

In this entertaining book, Micael Dahlén & Helge Thorbjørnsen talk about how the obsession with numbers for absolutely everything in our lives is beginning to cause problems and how we can be aware of it and make those subtle adjustments to free ourselves from this new tyranny.

Coving all manner of subjects from how the number a sportsman wears can affect his performance, the age when we suddenly feel older, how the number of likes on a social media channel is affecting the mental health of teenagers obsessed with how their image is projected to the wider world. Numbers can affect our health too, from step counting every day, to wanting to beat personal bests each time we run or lift weights and they have sensible suggestions on how to manage your very personal data. They explore just how we can be swayed by numbers in our relationships and experiences, and just how true a number actually is.

I found this book an enlightening experience. The authors have an easygoing and entertaining style of prose, which for me made this hugely complex subject quite accessible rather than diminishing it. And most importantly it made me think about the way that I see this data when I am looking for something specific. I read, rate and review a lot of books, and giving the book that I have just read a mark out of five seems very mean sometimes. When looking at other reviews of books or items that I am going to buy, I have for a long time dismissed the glowing reviews and the ones slating the product as outliers and this book has given me a better insight into how to take the numbers we are presented with. As the quote goes, there are lies, dammed lies and statistics… 3.5 stars

[The Captain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys!  I enjoy reading about statistics and was intrigued by the concept of how numbers tracking in the era of the smart phones affects life.  I thought I was going to get a more serious look into the science of numbers.  Instead this book was written in a loose style of a self-help book with very little practical advice.  The theme was "numerical vaccination" which the authors themselves don't seem to follow.  I understand they are economics professors but their personal anecdotes seem to fall into all the "traps" they warn against.

There are interesting comments in here, particularly about how numbers influence news articles in both "real" and "fake" news.  However, the book seems to be a doom and gloom look into the numbers game and seems to focus on the fear aspects.  Even when I agreed with the points the authors were making, I still struggled with the point of this book.

Even their own research was lightly touched on and received a couple of paragraphs per study.  I would have preferred a text with actual citations rather than a bibliography.  Why not link to the actual studies?  Or online sources?  Also because I was reading on an e-reader, I couldn't read many of the illustrations and couldn't enlarge them.  The book felt like a gimmick.  I did find some new concepts and data here so I don't regret reading this book.  I was just expecting a lot more.  Arrrr!

[Terje]

Tankevekkende bok om tall. Om løgnaktigheter, manipulering, overvåkning, algoritmestyring og avhengighet. Om den ukritiske troen på måling og telling i arbeidslivet og om evalueringstyranniet. Om unge mennesker som har tatt sitt eget liv fordi TikTok-videoene ikke genererte nok likes.

Boka er godt faglig fundert da den viser til mye forskning. Noe av forskningen får meg til å lure på hvordan noen har hatt fantasi til å forske på akkurat dette. Men boka er også velskrevet, lettlest og underholdende. Forfatterne tar ikke seg selv på alvor og serverer stoffet med mye humor.

I avslutningskapitlet blir leseren bedt om å ikke sette karakter på boka. Jeg skal respektere dette ønsket, selv om det medfører at svært mange ratingbesatte mennesker ikke kommer til å lese min omtale. Til dere som evner å skue litt lengre enn et antall stjerner, vil jeg her anbefale en ytterst leseverdig bok.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We managed to get through the day without knowing how many friends we have or steps we had take or likes we received.

Now numbers have become very important.

Numbers aren't eternal. Calendars and clocks have changed.

Numbers aren't universal. They can differ between countries and cultures.

Numbers aren't always correct as people and machines can count incorrectly.

Even if they are correct that doesn't mean that numbers are exact. Almost all numbers are rounded in some way.

Numbers are almost always subjective in some sense.

[Rumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. As someone who leans heavily on stats and numbers for validation of my behavior, it was a great reminder that even numbers can be subjective and that sometimes data is helpful, other times harmful. Really great non fic read! I listened to the audiobook.

[Eva Forslund]

Jag håller ju med om nästan allt, tycker att siffror är underbara men förrädiska. Tycker den kanske var lite simpel för min egen smak, men det är bara för att jag tänkt på de här sakerna så mycket de senaste åren (sorry om det var skryt). De uppmanar i boken att inte ge betyg så jag låter bli. Säger istället att jag rekommenderar denna! Men att den är lite väl lättsamt skriven för min smak.

[Stine Pernille · Rating 5 out of 5]

En artig bok. Les den!

[Devyani Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Write the review with words rather than numbers”
- Agreed. So here I am reviewing this book with both words and numbers.

My takeaways -
1. Don’t judge by numbers. They can be out of context, misrepresented, and really not objective in some cases.
2. Ratings are a lie. (Averages should be accommodated with standard deviation when judging ratings)
3. Numbers should be always critiqued before blindly following.


This book talks about how numbers influence our life and decisions. I see that a lot of experiments and surveys were conducted by the authors to prove their theories. But they were underwhelming to me. If they had added more critical analysis and deep dive, I might have appreciated the book more.

There were not many big takeaways from the concepts discussed as most seemed intuitive and repetitive. But, I do think that the authors tried their best to cover the subject of this book, which really has a limited potential in my opinion. Hence I believe this book could just be a couple of blogs.

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a refreshing look beyond understanding pure data to see how it affects us psychologically, from odd vs even and lucky numbers to counting steps, social media likes and hotel ratings. The authors discuss it all with personal anecdotes and helpful summary 'number vaccines' for each of the different chapters to promote healthy ways to look (or not) at the numbers. I enjoyed it a lot. (A seamless translation from the Swedish by Paul Norlen too.)

Read my full review on my blog here: https://annabookbel.net/more-numbers-...

[Øistein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flott bok om korleis tal styrer oss, enten vi vil eller ei. Mange wake-up calls her, korleis film og ferie-reviews får oss til å endre syn, basert på feil grunnlag. Korleis strava, tripadvisor, instagram og anna fører oss bak lyset. Korleis folk i forskjellig deler av verda vel forskjellig tal i spørreundersøkingar osb. Mykje om kor viktig det er å slutte å anmelde ting. Eg gir denne boka fire av fem stjerner.

[Loris Corat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to give this book 5 stars. Also felt compelled to write a few words. I had a great experience reading this book through the 10 chapters. It’s fun, light and easy to relate to. Numbers are tricky and can be manipulated, or can mislead you. If you want to have a few exemples. Read it ! Don’t trust the less than 5 stars ratings they’re grumpy people.

[Aron Modig]

Känns inte som att den kom med så mycket nytt. Avstår att sätta betyg, på författarnas begäran.

[Tina Persson]

Först betygsatte jag boken, tvärtemot vad författarna önskade. Men den är så viktig i sin enkelhet, denna bok. Fina perspektiv på hur vi luras av siffror, felanvänder och tolkar och glömmer bort subjektiviteten i dem. Läs den! Den gör gott, men det är ju enligt mig. Så jag betygsätter inte, men anbefaller den verkligen.

[Fred Fontz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another 3.5 star book for me. Yes, I do realize the irony in my leaving a review for the book itself. That being said, I'm taking the authors advice- I'm trying to offer some significant long-form feedback rather than summarizing everything with a singular number.

More Numbers Every Day delivers exactly what it promises: an analysis of how numbers infiltrate nearly every aspect of our daily lives. The book takes readers on a relatable journey, examining how we quantify our existence through tracking and metrics, often without fully realizing it. Whether it’s counting steps, monitoring calorie intake, or logging ratings on Goodreads, the examples presented are spot-on, and I often found myself nodding in agreement as the authors described situations that I, too, have experienced.

One of the book’s strengths is how it forces readers to take a step back and re-evaluate the significance of all these numbers. Dahlen and Thorbjørnsen do a great job of making you question whether tracking everything—steps, likes, hours worked—actually adds value to your life or if it’s merely a "symptom of the disease," an endless chase for quantifiable success. This theme resonates throughout the book and challenges you to consider the mental and emotional toll of constantly seeking numerical validation.

While the book is packed with relatable examples and thought-provoking questions, it doesn’t necessarily offer any groundbreaking takeaways. Instead, it provides a brief yet effective analysis that encourages the reader to further explore their personal relationship with numbers. Rather than proposing solutions, the authors present a lens through which to view the modern obsession with quantifying life, leaving the deeper investigation up to you.

Overall, More Numbers Every Day is an engaging and quick read that will resonate with anyone who feels overwhelmed by the constant barrage of data in daily life. While it doesn’t present any radical new ideas or solutions, it does succeed in sparking a thoughtful conversation about the role of numbers and whether we benefit from—or are burdened by—their presence in everything we do. If you’re looking for a light, accessible analysis of our number-driven world, this book will definitely get you thinking.

[Karel Baloun · Rating 5 out of 5]

What? I'm going to learn about happiness from two Scandinavian Professors about happiness? What could they possibly have for a numerically obsessed American like me! .. uh, yeah.. exactly. I picked this up for a fresh perspective on "quantified life" and this definitely delivered. What makes this a five-star book is the humor and tone.. for a factual reporting of applied research findings, this was a joy to read, and I wanted more.

The advice bullet points that close out each chapter are concise, actionable, and wise. Taking their advice would alleviate a lot of global suffering. The book’s organization is very effective and aids retention of conclusions.

Some of the study effects they attribute to “seeing numbers” are simply “priming” to a concept, as well known in psych. It is possible that priming with printed numbers is stronger than priming in other ways, but authors don’t show this evidence. Overall psych studies described in Chapter 8 might be oversold, yet they are nevertheless intriguing. Anchoring to irrelevant numbers is a well established cognitive bias.. I had not known about the dramatic impact in declining empathy. Overall, sometimes the authors overstate their case, which is fine I suppose, since their position is under represented in the modern digital world.

An entire additional chapter could have applied these cognative weakness in numeracy to disinformation and propaganda.. because 79.314% of Americans blindly accept as truth whatever stupid numbers are fed to them.

[Margaret Lukens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading “Numbers”, I had already put away my Fitbit and Apple watch because I noticed that they tended to diminish what intrinsic pleasure I got from exercise. Should I walk a little further? The answer no longer depended on how my knee felt or whether the day was beautiful, but on how many steps I “needed” that week. And my favorite language learning app became so burdened with leaderboards and challenges that it lost sight of why I was there in the first place: for the joy of improving at other languages. So I didn’t need this book to tell me about the dangers of trying to quantify everything and strive for ever greater numbers. But, ironically, “Numbers” has given me the data to explain why I feel increasingly annoyed at being asked to rate on a scale of one to five every restaurant visit, store purchase, car ride, and, um, book. Our human experience cannot and should not be reduced to quantities. Every voter, citizen, teacher, parent, manager, consumer — everyone — should be aware of how our biases influence the numbers we choose and how those unconscious biases can impact everything from satisfaction with a vacation stay to the length of prison sentences we dole out. Rating nearly everything with likes, stars, and points gives us a false sense of knowing which college professor is a good teacher or which manufacturing process is more efficient, and that’s a big problem. But far worse, it wrenches our focus from the things that really make life good. “Numbers,” by helping us notice this pernicious trend, can also help us reclaim our un-rateable joy.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ironic that I am giving a numeric score to a book that explores the dangers of reducing a review of 250+ page book to a single number. But here we are. The authors look at many areas of our lives that are influenced by numbers and the effect that they have on us. I am not too much into social media so I was not aware of the extent that people go to to maintain or achieve some rating or whatever it is on some of these platforms. Even people in relationships can "grade" or rate each other using these platforms and put artificial stress on a relationship that should not be judged by how often an app is used with the relationship.

A big thing for me to think about, which the authors describe, is doing things or living one's life for the enjoyment of those things and not because an app is pushing us to get a higher number. In my case, it is walking and I am trying to be cognizant of watching out to trying to get steps just to hit a number instead of just enjoying the walk.

[Vix · Rating 3 out of 5]

My life is based around numbers given I'm a statistician, so I knew I needed to read this book.

It's pretty nerdy and there were sections I found interesting - I especially liked the little personal stories added in. Other sections I did know about and wholeheartedly agree with - NO p-hacking! I live in data but know you have to both collect and treat it right to avoid any misinformation.

From the blub I expected it to be presented differently - it's quite chunky heavy going text that, unless you're into numbers, I'm not sure you'll get along with. I expected more funny/unusual facts I think given the last part of the synopsis.

Overall, it's one to dive in and out of, especially if you like your numbers.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from RandomThingsTours and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Firat Fidan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benim gibi sayıları ve istatistikleri sevenler için eğlenceli ve ilginç bir kitap. Yazarın ‘numerical vaccination’ adı altında vermek istediği mesaj açık ve net; “Hayatımızı şekillendiren ve tüm kararlarımızda etkili olan en temel referans, rakamlardır. Bunları kullanın ama her rakama aldanmayın” Teknolojinin her sene bir önceki yıla göre 3-4 kez büyüdüğü bir dünyada hayatımızın her adımını ölçüp ve buna göre kararlar aldığımızı kitabı okuyunca daha net anlayacaksınız. Sosyal medya, kolumuzda bizi takip eden saat, iş hayatındaki hedefler, film kritikleri, spor müsabakaları, transferler, sınıflandırma, sadakat vb psikolojik sorunlarımızı etkileyecek her şey işte bu rakamlara bağlı… İyi bir haftasonu kitabı.

[Kelly E. Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading . It has a lot of great points about how numbers changed the world and changes the world. How numbers influence our opinions and maybe more importantly how numbers don’t always give the full picture - is this book a 5 star ? Is it the same as other 5 star books , should I give it a 4 ? Or is 5 being dishonest in some way ? It takes away the enjoyment to constantly judge things on number , doesn’t it? This book is worth reading because it really will have you thinking before rating and also you will have a new appreciation for numbers , our world and where it’s going. It’s funny I have to leave a star rating or I can’t review this book. :)

[Jon Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook was enjoyable, and the ideas presented were intriguing. I especially liked the way the authors explored how anchoring works, even in nonsensical ways. Their suggestion that this knowledge could be used for nefarious ends means it's definitely already being done somewhere.

The notes from the authors were dropped in as if they were messages on an answering machine. This was a clever way to incorporate the phone-quality audio. The content of the notes more than made up for the drop in audio quality.

[Marthe Johansen]

Velger å respektere ønsket om å ikke sette karakter på boken, men heller skive en kort beskrivelse av mitt subjektive inntrykk. Boken ga meg flere tankevekkere, og den jeg tror jeg i størst grad blir å ta med meg videre er å I langt mindre grad sette tall på opplevelsene mine av tjenester og produkter, da det ofte leder til at man blir mer kritisk og nyter tjenesten i mindre grad. Jeg har tidligere tatt med i å tenke midt i en film over hvorvidt dette er en 7 eller 8, istedenfor å faktisk følge med på filmen. 😅

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Numbers and point systems transform physical and social phenomena into units that are measurable." (Page 147)

Numbers can make you happy; they can make you sad. But what do they really mean? Not always quite what you would think. Even when you think you know, you don't always. As a casual reader, I found this book very refreshing. And, yes, it is very ironic that we are all here rating this book on a scale of 1-5.

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag är ett stort fan av Micael Dahlén men just den här boken var inte den som passade mig mest. Antagligen för att jag har läst många av de verk som de refererar till och att jag därför tyckte att detta var en lite för ytlig och lättsam version. Tror dock att den passar mycket bra för de som inte redan har läst t.ex. Kahneman.

[Espen Kristensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes a lot of good points about numbers, our interpretation and use of them, and the dangers this poses. Some really healthy advice about being careful in how much of your life you turn into numbers. But they spend a lot of words doodling about while making these points, at least for my taste. Worth a read, but consider skimming certain parts - there are a few too many anecdotes.

[Stella C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting enough to read but after half of the book, I don’t think I need to read through it. So I just read the summaries of every chapters. It was glad that the author linked the numbers/ data in social media with mental health. But I wish the author showed more good sides of using data.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5 (the irony of rating this book out of 5 not lost on me). It was just very average. A lot of information that is either obvious or not that insightful, with a few interesting points scattered throughout. There are better books on this subject out there.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fun book. The authors make you stop and think about how many times day statistics play a part in your everyday life, and how they can sometimes ruin a perfectly great vacation!
23 is not 45. (If you know, you know.)

[Tora Mari]

Tall er ikke universelle og tall et nesten alltid subjektive...
Er allerede relativ bevist på tall og deres «påvirkning», så noe av temaene føltes litt repetative. Er god lesing for de som kanskje trenger noen doser tallvaksiner.
Etter ønske fra forfattere rater jeg ikke boken.