A Non-Technical Reading List for Data Science - KDnuggets

Contrary to what some data scientists may like to believe, we can never reduce the world to mere numbers and algorithms. When it comes down to it, decisions are made by humans, and being an effective data scientist means understanding both people and data. When OPower, a software company, wanted to get people to use less energy, they provided customers with plenty of stats about their electricity usage and cost. However, the data alone were not enough to get people to change. In addition, OPower needed to take advantage of behavioral science, namely, studies showing people were driven to reduce energy when they received smiley emoticons on their bills showing how they compare to their neighbors!