De Terugkeer van Behaviorisme

Je kon er op wachten. Een socioloog die in Big Data de verloren dromen van de behavioristische sociologie herkent.

The mathematical modeling of society is made possible, according to Pentland, by the innate tractability of human beings. We may think of ourselves as rational actors, in conscious control of our choices, but most of what we do is reflexive. Our behavior is determined by our subliminal reactions to the influence of other people, particularly those in the various peer groups we belong to. “The power of social physics,” he writes, “comes from the fact that almost all of our day-to-day actions are habitual, based mostly on what we have learned from observing the behavior of others.” Once you map and measure all of a person’s social influences, you can develop a statistical model that predicts that person’s behavior, just as you can model the path a billiard ball will take after it strikes other balls.

Nicolas Carr - 'The Limits of Big Data' in MIT Technology Review.

(In de conclusie van De Toekomst Hervonden pleit ik voor compleet het tegenovergestelde. Al vrees ik dat bovenstaande voorlopig aan populariteit zal winnen.)