Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
The Current

'Datayclysm' author says online data is transforming history

Every time you respond to things on a social media site, you allow your personal quirks to be siphoned into the statistics. Meet Christian Rudder, the mathematician behind OK Cupid, and the author of "Dataclysm". He argues all that aggregate information offers a level of insight into our society that is unprecedented....
CBC Radio ·
Every time you respond to things on a social media site, you allow your personal quirks to be siphoned into the statistics. Meet Christian Rudder, the mathematician behind OK Cupid, and the author of "Dataclysm". He argues all that aggregate information offers a level of insight into our society that is unprecedented.

dataclysm-headshot-200.jpg

Click an ad here; do a little e-commerce there; and add your thumbs up to a Facebook post or three. It all leaves behind an online trail. In fact, on every journey into the thicket of the internet, we leave behind something like a trail of breadcumbs along a forest path. Only there are no birds to fly in and clean it up: The long and messy online trail always stays behind, full of clues about you for anyone inclined to look.

Christian Rudder has just that kind of inclination. He's the co-founder and president of the online dating site OK Cupid. And he's written a book called "Dataclysm - Who We Are When We think No One's Looking."

Christian Rudder joined Anna Maria in our Toronto studio in September.


So is all the aggregate data contributing to a more democratic view of history? Or are you worried about all that information being collected and analyzed? How much can you learn about someone online... have you seen differences between what people say? And what they actually do online?

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Or e-mail us through our website. Find us on Facebook. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366. And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.

This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath.

More from this episode