What is the secret to a stable marriage' How many gay people are still in the closet' Do we truly live in a postracial society' Has Twitter made us dumber' These are just a few of the questions Christian Rudder answers in Dataclysm, a smart, funny, irreverent look at how we act when we think no one's looking. For centuries we've relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers and without filters. Data scientists can quantify the formerly unquantifiable and show with unprecedented precision how we fight, how we age, how we love, and how we change. Our personal data has been used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don't need. In Dataclysm, Rudder uses it to show us who we are as people. He reveals how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person's sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more job interview requests; and why you have to have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America's most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter. He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publically. What is the least Asian thing you can say' Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey' What do black women think about Simon & Garfunkel' Hint: They don't think about Simon & Garfunkel. Rudder also tracks human migration in real time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible. Provocative, illuminating, and visually arresting, Dataclysm is a portrait of our essential selves and a first look at a revolution in the making.;Part 1: What brings us together. Wooderson's Law ; Death by a thousand mehs ; Writing on the wall ; You gotta be the glue ; There's no success like failure -- Part 2: What pulls us apart. The confounding factor ; The beauty myth in apotheosis ; It's what inside that counts ; Days of rage -- Part 3: What makes us who we are. Tall for an Asian ; Ever fallen in love? ; Know your place ; Our brand could be your life ; Breadcrumbs.;An irreverent, provocative, and visually fascinating look at what our online lives reveal about who we really are--and how this deluge of data will transform the science of human behavior. Big Data is used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us things we don't need. In Dataclysm, Christian Rudder puts this flood of information to an entirely different use: understanding human nature. Drawing on terabytes of data from Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, OkCupid, and many other sites, Rudder examines the terrain of human experience. He charts the rise and fall of America's most reviled word through Google Search, examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter, and traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible. Audacious, entertaining, and illuminating, Dataclysm is a portrait of our essential selves--and a first look at a revolution in the making. --