The Perils of Metrics

Let's start the year with an example that is, at least superficially, on the light-hearted side:  librarians creating fake patrons to check out important books that would otherwise be discarded for lack of popularity.

Underneath are two deep and important dysfunctions.  The specific one -- aiming to show people only what they are likely to want to see based on popularity -- is how fake news spreads virally.  The generic one is the idea that metrics provide a straight line to decisions with no thought or interpretation required along the way.

"The problem here isn't the collection of data: it's the blind adherence to data over human judgment, the use of data as a shackle rather than a tool."

http://boingboing.net/2017/01/02/automated-book-culling-softwar.html