Why would a casino try and stop you from losing? How can a mathematical formula find your future spouse? Would you know if a statistical analysis blackballed you from a job you wanted?

Today, number crunching affects your life in ways you might never imagine. In this lively and groundbreaking new book, economist Ian Ayres shows how today's best and brightest organizations are analyzing massive databases at lightening speed to provide greater insights into human behavior. They are the Super Crunchers. From internet sites like Google and Amazon that know your tastes better than you do, to a physician's diagnosis and your child's education, to boardrooms and government agencies, this new breed of decision makers are calling the shots. And they are delivering staggeringly accurate results. How can a football coach evaluate a player without ever seeing him play? Want to know whether the price of an airline ticket will go up or down before you buy? How can a formula outpredict wine experts in determining the best vintages? Super crunchers have the answers. In this brave new world of equation versus expertise, Ayres shows us the benefits and risks, who loses and who wins, and how super crunching can be used to help, not manipulate us.

Gone are the days of solely relying on intuition to make decisions. No businessperson, consumer, or student who wants to stay ahead of the curve should make another keystroke without reading Super Crunchers.

From the Hardcover edition.

伊恩•艾瑞斯（Ian Ayres） 計量經濟學傢、律師，耶魯大學法學院和管理學院教授，stickK.com網站的創始人，《法律、經濟學和組織機構期刊》（Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization）編輯，曾著有11本書，發錶過100篇文章。他是《福布斯》雜誌的專欄作傢，著名公共廣播節目《Marketplace》的時事評論員，是《紐約時報》“魔鬼經濟學”博客的專欄作傢之一。

其著作《Insincere Promises: The Law of Misrepresented Intent》獲得瞭由美國藝術與科學學院頒發的Scribes圖書奬。他成就卓著、名聲斐然，曾受到《黃金時間實況》、《奧普拉脫口秀》、《早安美國》節目以及《時代周刊》《Vogue》等雜誌的采訪，可以說伊恩•艾瑞斯是那一代人裏成就最多、文章觀點被引用最多、名氣最大的法學教授。