Practical Psychology for Data Scientists

You aren’t as logical as you think. None of us are. We are susceptible to cognitive biases each and every day. If you have had the pleasure of reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, then you are more than familiar with this reality. We are imperfect creatures and the world is an imperfect place.

Given the experimental and research-oriented nature of data science, we are more susceptible to these biases than most. We represent the medium between data and insight. We translate strings, ints, and floats into actionable advice, models, and visualizations.

This role comes with great responsibility. When our thinking is hijacked by cognitive bias, bad things happen. Ill-informed decisions get made and incorrect information is spread. In this post, we’ll learn to avoid these scenarios by addressing common biases, where they might come up, and how to recognize them.

https://towardsdatascience.com/practical-psychology-for-data-scientists-74b4b031b777