Big Data by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier

Really struggling right now. As you know, I haven't been reading as much this year. Hoping to change that. Took my test last week, went out and bought a bunch of books. Then my laptop dies. So yes, I'm writing this on a tablet. I actually have a few books in the pipeline as I've had some on my wishlist for a long time and friends have been recommending books. Anyways, onto Big Data.

Going to cut straight to the chase. I didn't finish the book. Fell about forty pages short. The book is about how data already is and will continue to change the world. I don't think the idea is all that revolutionary. If you follow the news/internet you would recognize this. Books I have previously read also shared a lot of the points that were in this book. Frankly, I didn't find Big Data all that insightful.

The writing was very repetitive. I thought the authors did a poor job coming across with any significant takeaways. Even the flow of the book seemed scattered, as if random musings were fused together. About the only thing I learned was some historical technological innovations.

One thing that I want to share is in Big Data, written at the beginning of this year, they disclose the NSA is recording e-mails, phone calls, and other communications. They site a 2010 Washington Post investigation. Interesting how it took nearly three years for the entire thing to blow up and become part of the mainstream media.

Overall, the book is a waste of time. If you are interested in data, there are better books out there.

My rating for Big Data: 1  star out of 5. Get it here!

P.S. It's hard to insert pictures or links on the tablet. Hoping to find a computer before next Sunday. I'll update this post for that stuff once I get a laptop.

Updated on Saturday, July 13th (pictures, links, italics)

Changing the Game by William Hall

Changing the Game was referenced in Trading Bases as a source of understanding the concept of value in gambling. Trading Bases caught my attention and I wanted to dig deeper. I actually started reading this book right after Trading Bases, but it took me a while to finish. And a while to blog about it.

The beginning of the book is for the novice gambler as the author explains basic terminology. The most annoying part was how William Hall constantly pitches his "game analysis system" that he is selling. He references it every other sentence (that may be a bit sarcastic, but it is probably every paragraph). Very annoying. That is the reason I put down the book for a few weeks. Frankly, I didn't understand why anyone would want to read a sales pitch.

The last third of the book gets into the good stuff. Value is how much return you will get for the riskiness of your bet. A way to think about it is the difference between what you think the price should be and what the line is. The bigger the difference, the more value. Even if you think you can pick a winner, it may not be financially worth it. The author actually does a great job explaining this concept. He digs much deeper into this, mentioning distributions (Poisson, anyone?) and other mathematical references. Exactly what I was looking for.

Frankly I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone. I think it is misleading in how easy it portrays making money from betting. It truly is a sales pitch. However, I am glad I read it. Once I finish studying for my next exam, which is in two weeks, I'm going to spend some time pondering all of this gambling stuff. For my own sake and for a friend who is getting into gambling. The concept of value and predictive analysis is right up my alley. Don't be surprised to see a few more gambling or investing books on the blog in the summer.

My rating for Changing the Game: 1 star out of 5. Get it here!

Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Haven't done one of these movie reviews in a while. It's kind of random too. I haven't actually read The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I prefer to read the book before watching the movie but the movie looked really good, it was nominated for and won a bunch of awards, plus it had Jennifer Lawrence.

The story starts with Pat getting out of a mental health facility after an eight month stint. He ended up there after an incident stemming  from walking in on his wife cheating on him. When he gets out, he is determined to win back his wife, who has a restraining order against him. Pat meets Tiffany at a dinner party, who is a recent widow with her own set of crazy problems. She tells Pat she's willing to help him win back his wife if he enters a dance competition with her. That's the gist of the story.

The first thing that stands out is the acting. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were phenomenal. She won an Oscar for Best Actress, but frankly I thought Bradley Cooper was even better. The movie is mostly a drama, but there is some comedy and definitely the romantic angle. The characters speak without any filter, often times leading to uncomfortable situations. But as the movie progresses, you find yourself rooting for both of them and hoping neither screws up.

Given that I didn't read the book, I can't say much about the comparison between the two. I may give it a read though. If I do, I will probably reference some stuff from the movie.

My rating for the movie Silver Linings Playbook: 4.5 stars out of 5!