I got this book for Christmas, and finished it by New Years, so it officially counts as my last book of 2017. For the last few months I had been having a hard time getting into anything, but Social Physics starts off strongly, even if it does taper off into what almost seem like advertisements for the authors various consulting firms (which he cofounded, as he will continuously remind you).
What is social physics? Basically, it’s quantitative, computational social science. It’s using statistics and mathematical modeling software to study the social world. The field is centered around the concept of “idea flow”, which is the exchange of ideas within and between groups. These can be any size, from a small team to a large business, and even up to the level of a city or all of civilization.
At the core of social physics is so-called “big data”- the massive amounts of digital data that are now available about human interactions. Big data can include almost anything, and often includes multiple measures such as phone call records, social media posts, credit card transactions, and GPS location fixes. Nearly all of these are enabled by the ubiquity of mobile phones.
This information can tell about who people talk to, where they are/have been, and what they have bought, all of which can paint a pretty accurate picture of exactly what that person’s life is like. Combined with millions of other data points from other individuals and you can model the entire society through data. Or you can use it to micro-target advertisements, which is its most common use currently. If this all sounds a little creepy to you then a) sorry, this data is collected by your mobile and/or internet provider and you don’t really have a choice, and b) Pentland agrees with you, and devotes the entire last third of the book to discussing his “New Deal on Data” which would increase your control over your own data.
Idea flow can further be expanded into “engagement” and “exploration” in social groups. “Engagement” is idea flow within a group (think talking to colleagues around the water cooler), while “exploration” is idea flow between groups (think networking with people from other companies or industries). Groups with high engagement tend to be more productive, and groups with high exploration tend to be more innovative. Idea flow also considers group members’ social networks (who they know), social influence, and openness to new ideas. Many of the real-world examples given by Pentland consist of attempts to define, and then increase idea flow within a group.
Overall, Pentlands conclusion is that we can use this knowledge of social physics (along with an acknowledgement of privacy concerns and a respect for individual’s rights to their own data) to engineer better societies which maximize idea flow, thus maximizing productivity and innovation, and therefore bettering society for everyone.
Books, Beer, and the Future 