How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.95 (862 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 022625917X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-01-31 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Making individuals statistical did not happen easily. To understand how the financial world shapes modern bodies, how risk assessments can perpetuate inequalities of race or sex, and how the quantification and claims of risk on each of us continue to grow, we must take seriously the history of those who view our lives as a series of probabilities to be managed.. Life insurers led the way, developing numerical practices for measuring individuals and groups, predicting their fates, and intervening in their futures. Dan Bouk reveals how, in a little over half a century, insurers laid the groundwork for the much-quantified, risk-infused world that we live in today. Legislative battles raged over the propriety of discriminat
Sweeping history, not just of one industry, but of a nation and of our conception of ourselves At its core, this book is a history of the life insurance industry. It is the two or three layers of meaning surrounding this core that make the book so incredibly rich. It is a history of changes in society, and changes in the mindset of those of us who participate in it.A theme throughout the book is the increasing quantification of risk and measurement in all aspects of life. Life insurers are able to quantify the risk of mortality. They moved pursued that in increasingly fine detail and quantifi. "History at its best" according to Penny Lane. A well written history. It's expansive but not meandering, pointed but not moralizing. Bouk anchors a dense and technical subject – life insurance – with fascinating human stories and controversies that resonate today. The author's passion for the subject matter and literary sensibility ("Frederick Hoffman spent days upon days riding trains" introduces one chapter) makes the reader want to come along for the ride. Me being me, my favorite sections were grounded by the composer Charles Iv. Brilliant, engrossing history of life insurance industry D. K. Citron Brilliant, engrossing history of life insurance industry, its beginnings in assessing risk, the folly of measuring heads to assess longevity, various ways prejudice played its part in development of our move to score, rate and predict lives. Beautifully told through stories and main industry players layered with intellectual history. Must read especially for those interested in today's scored society!
In this history, Bouk sees the emergence of 'numbered' lives, foreshadowing big data. "Life insurers pondered the lives of ordinary people more than any other institution during the period of America's industrialisation. This fascinating history should teach us not to be fatalistic. Big data is what we choose to make it."