Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Presented at Balticon, May 26, 2018
In this compelling and accessible talk, Bruce Press—a photographer, former engineer, and science communicator—delivers a thought-provoking exploration of how big data shapes our daily lives. Presented at Balticon 2018 under the banner of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS), this talk examines the surprising ways we all contribute to massive datasets—and what that means for privacy, critical thinking, and our understanding of society.
Drawing inspiration from Isaac Asimov’s science fiction concept of “psychohistory,” Press makes the case that our digital age has turned that fiction into reality. By analyzing the massive amounts of data generated by billions of people every day, corporations, governments, and platforms can make shockingly accurate predictions about human behavior—not individually, but in the aggregate.
Whether you're concerned about your digital footprint, fascinated by behavioral prediction, or curious about the intersection of data and belief, this talk offers an informative and lightly humorous look at the digital forces influencing us all.
-- Bruce opens by referencing the cultural trend away from expertise and highlights how everyone today is encouraged to be their own authority. This “end of expertise” feeds into widespread misunderstandings about data, privacy, and truth.
-- He introduces Asimov’s concept of psychohistory from the Foundation series, connecting it to modern analytics tools that predict behavior based on large data sets.
-- Press credits the podcast Rationally Speaking and the book Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz as key influences. These sources explore how digital behavior reveals more than traditional surveys ever could.
-- Every action—swiping a credit card, driving through a tollbooth, using a grocery store loyalty card—creates data. Bruce shares a personal anecdote about working with KFC franchise data to optimize store strategies.
-- In political campaigning, big data has exposed surprising insights. In one Ohio election, analysts found that voter turnout was most influenced by distance to the polling place—more than age or voting history.
-- The talk confronts the question of who owns the data we create. Most people routinely give up their personal data without realizing it, often for convenience or minor rewards.
-- Bruce explains how traditional surveys are flawed. People lie, exaggerate, and shape their answers to seem socially acceptable. In contrast, digital behavior—especially anonymous Google searches—often reveals what people truly think and feel.
-- He shows how Google Timeline can track a user’s movements even when navigation features aren’t active, using his own experience traveling from a concert to a coffee shop to illustrate the point.
-- Google Trends offers another lens into public thought, with spikes in search terms reflecting real-time responses to current events. Press notes that people trust Google with private questions they wouldn’t ask another person.
-- The presentation ends with a reflection on the dual nature of big data. While it can be used to improve services, public health, and decision-making, it also presents profound concerns around privacy, consent, and manipulation.
Bruce Press encourages his audience not to fear big data—but to understand it. With a critical mindset, consumers and citizens can recognize the patterns, ask better questions, and resist manipulation in an era of surveillance capitalism.
Bruce Press is a photographer, former engineer, and long-time advocate for science education and public understanding of science. He has spoken at conferences and skeptical events across the Mid-Atlantic region and brings a practical, data-savvy perspective to topics at the intersection of science, technology, and society.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
#BigData
#DigitalFootprint
#DataPrivacy
#Skepticism
#CriticalThinking
#ScienceEducation
#BrucePress
#NCAS
#RationalThinking
#Psychohistory
#AsimovFoundation
#EverybodyLies
#GoogleTrends
#CambridgeAnalytica
#DataEthics
#BehavioralAnalytics
#TechAndSociety
#OnlinePrivacy
#SurveillanceCapitalism
#SearchHistory
#SocialScience
#DigitalSkeptic
#DataDrivenSociety
#SkepticalTalk
#ScienceCommunication
#SurveyBias
#ConfirmationBias
#SkepticsUnite
#SpeculativeFiction
#PredictiveAnalytics
#SkepticPresentation
#InformationEconomy
#DataAndDemocracy
#EndOfExpertise
#PublicUnderstandingOfScience
#ScienceLiteracy
#DigitalSelf
#ScienceAndSociety
#AIAndEthics
#TruthInData
#WhatDataReveals
#QuantifiedLife
#ThinkCritically
#SkepticalViewpoints
#RationalDiscourse
#ScienceVsPseudoscience
#Balticon
Presented at Balticon, May 26, 2018
In this compelling and accessible talk, Bruce Press—a photographer, former engineer, and science communicator—delivers a thought-provoking exploration of how big data shapes our daily lives. Presented at Balticon 2018 under the banner of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS), this talk examines the surprising ways we all contribute to massive datasets—and what that means for privacy, critical thinking, and our understanding of society.
Drawing inspiration from Isaac Asimov’s science fiction concept of “psychohistory,” Press makes the case that our digital age has turned that fiction into reality. By analyzing the massive amounts of data generated by billions of people every day, corporations, governments, and platforms can make shockingly accurate predictions about human behavior—not individually, but in the aggregate.
Whether you're concerned about your digital footprint, fascinated by behavioral prediction, or curious about the intersection of data and belief, this talk offers an informative and lightly humorous look at the digital forces influencing us all.
-- Bruce opens by referencing the cultural trend away from expertise and highlights how everyone today is encouraged to be their own authority. This “end of expertise” feeds into widespread misunderstandings about data, privacy, and truth.
-- He introduces Asimov’s concept of psychohistory from the Foundation series, connecting it to modern analytics tools that predict behavior based on large data sets.
-- Press credits the podcast Rationally Speaking and the book Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz as key influences. These sources explore how digital behavior reveals more than traditional surveys ever could.
-- Every action—swiping a credit card, driving through a tollbooth, using a grocery store loyalty card—creates data. Bruce shares a personal anecdote about working with KFC franchise data to optimize store strategies.
-- In political campaigning, big data has exposed surprising insights. In one Ohio election, analysts found that voter turnout was most influenced by distance to the polling place—more than age or voting history.
-- The talk confronts the question of who owns the data we create. Most people routinely give up their personal data without realizing it, often for convenience or minor rewards.
-- Bruce explains how traditional surveys are flawed. People lie, exaggerate, and shape their answers to seem socially acceptable. In contrast, digital behavior—especially anonymous Google searches—often reveals what people truly think and feel.
-- He shows how Google Timeline can track a user’s movements even when navigation features aren’t active, using his own experience traveling from a concert to a coffee shop to illustrate the point.
-- Google Trends offers another lens into public thought, with spikes in search terms reflecting real-time responses to current events. Press notes that people trust Google with private questions they wouldn’t ask another person.
-- The presentation ends with a reflection on the dual nature of big data. While it can be used to improve services, public health, and decision-making, it also presents profound concerns around privacy, consent, and manipulation.
Bruce Press encourages his audience not to fear big data—but to understand it. With a critical mindset, consumers and citizens can recognize the patterns, ask better questions, and resist manipulation in an era of surveillance capitalism.
Bruce Press is a photographer, former engineer, and long-time advocate for science education and public understanding of science. He has spoken at conferences and skeptical events across the Mid-Atlantic region and brings a practical, data-savvy perspective to topics at the intersection of science, technology, and society.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
#BigData
#DigitalFootprint
#DataPrivacy
#Skepticism
#CriticalThinking
#ScienceEducation
#BrucePress
#NCAS
#RationalThinking
#Psychohistory
#AsimovFoundation
#EverybodyLies
#GoogleTrends
#CambridgeAnalytica
#DataEthics
#BehavioralAnalytics
#TechAndSociety
#OnlinePrivacy
#SurveillanceCapitalism
#SearchHistory
#SocialScience
#DigitalSkeptic
#DataDrivenSociety
#SkepticalTalk
#ScienceCommunication
#SurveyBias
#ConfirmationBias
#SkepticsUnite
#SpeculativeFiction
#PredictiveAnalytics
#SkepticPresentation
#InformationEconomy
#DataAndDemocracy
#EndOfExpertise
#PublicUnderstandingOfScience
#ScienceLiteracy
#DigitalSelf
#ScienceAndSociety
#AIAndEthics
#TruthInData
#WhatDataReveals
#QuantifiedLife
#ThinkCritically
#SkepticalViewpoints
#RationalDiscourse
#ScienceVsPseudoscience
#Balticon
