Everywhere you go, you are data. You purchase an apple and suddenly ones and zeros are racing through the clickstream like they're wearing superhero capes. Someone, somewhere now knows more about when people eat apples, the likelihood that you will purchase one again, how they correlate to your longevity, your salary, your risk of disease. You shape the universe as you go.

And you live in the Prague Spring of data — a time when you can study from your laptop in a coffee shop what procedures really heal, what great teachers really do, or what pitches end up in infielders' gloves in the bottom of the ninth — and then— click — you can share with a thousand others. There's much to be gained from that — better hospitals and schools, say. Since an intuition for data can move mountains, here are three books to help you make the most of your data-driven life.

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