COMMON READING PROGRAM FOR THE CLASS OF 2024
WELCOME CLASS OF 2024 On behalf of the university’s faculty, staff, and the 2020 Common Reading Program, we welcome you to Washington University! We’re very excited you will soon be joining us. The Common Reading Program initiates your intellectual college experience and highlights the essence of your education—habits of inquiry and debate that underlie effective citizenship in communities beyond the self. Throughout the first semester, you will encounter themes from the book in classes, discussions, and on-campus programming. As part of the 18th annual Common Reading Program, you will be participating in what we anticipate will be a dynamic and thought-provoking discussion of the book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil. O’Neil, a mathematician and data scientist studying the ethics of data, questions a common assumption that data are inherently objective. O’Neil challenges readers to investigate data formation and dig deeper into the supposition that data are impartial. O’Neil asks readers to consider the data they are consuming and understand the influence of data on equity and democracy. Regardless of your academic interests or extracurricular passions while at WashU, O’Neil’s book provides you an opportunity to think critically and consider the impact of data on the topics that interest you most. In your studies here, you will address the great problems of the world. Those challenges underlying our approach to how we conceptualize, translate, and communicate information are certainly among the greatest facing society. So too are disease, inequity, climate change, hunger, and international conflict. These challenges are difficult, but we believe in the passion and fortitude you bring to education and all the great work you will do at WashU and beyond.
WELCOME, BEARS. LET’S GET STARTED. 1 | Common Reading Program
Robert M. Wild, PhD Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
ABOUT THE BOOK
THE AUTHOR Cathy O’Neil is a data scientist and author of the blog mathbabe.org. She earned a PhD in mathematics from Harvard and taught at Barnard College before moving to the private sector, where she worked for the hedge fund D.E. Shaw. She then worked as a data scientist at various startups, building models that predict people’s purchases and clicks. O’Neil started the Lede Program in Data Journalism at Columbia and is the author of Doing Data Science. She is currently a columnist for Bloomberg View.
A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life and threaten to rip apart our social fabric. We live in the age of the algorithm.
Tracing the arc of a person’s life, O’Neil
Increasingly, the decisions that affect our
exposes the black box models that shape our
lives—where we go to school, whether we
future, both as individuals and as a society.
get a car loan, how much we pay for health
These “weapons of math destruction” score
insurance—are being made not by humans,
teachers and students, sort résumés, grant (or
but by mathematical models. In theory, this
deny) loans, evaluate workers, target voters,
should lead to greater fairness: everyone is
set parole, and monitor our health. O’Neil
judged according to the same rules and bias
calls on modelers to take more responsibility
is eliminated. But as Cathy O’Neil reveals in
for their algorithms and on policy makers to
this urgent and necessary book, the opposite
regulate their use. But in the end, it’s up to
is true. The models being used today are
us to become more savvy about the models
opaque, unregulated, and uncontestable,
that govern our lives. This important book
even when they’re wrong.
empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change. —Penguin Random House Washington University in St. Louis | 2
ABOUT THE COMMON READING PROGRAM The Washington University Common Reading Program provides a common intellectual experience for both incoming students and members of our extended campus community. The book discussions offer an opportunity for students to meet and interact with a member of the faculty or staff in an informal discussion, outside the boundaries of the classroom or formal academic requirements, and introduces students to the spirit of inquiry and debate that is integral to the Washington University academic community. We urge you to approach the Common Reading Program prompts and discussions with an open mind. This is a unique and valuable opportunity to challenge yourself, share your ideas, learn about different viewpoints, and engage with your campus community. There are no right or wrong answers, no grades, and diverse perspectives are encouraged. The more involved you choose to be, the more you will take away from this experience. Throughout your time at Washington University, you will encounter themes from the book in classes, discussions, and engaging on-campus programming.
HAPPY READING! 3 | Common Reading Program
WELCOME BEARS! In her highly acclaimed book of nonfiction,
We, as students of WashU, have many
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data
different academic and personal experiences.
Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy,
Whether or not the word “math” in the title
Cathy O’Neil explores the ways in which big
daunts or excites you, everyone will gain
data and algorithms reinforce discrimination
something from reading this book. It is our
in many spheres of society. In her gripping
hope that, throughout your time at WashU,
discussion of what she calls “the dark side of
you will continue to think critically and
Big Data,” O’Neil encourages readers to think
endeavor to uncover the truth. This book will
critically about how society and their own
certainly help to start you on that journey.
lives are affected by mathematical models. These ideas are particularly relevant as you prepare to begin your journey at WashU. O’Neil’s exploration of college ranking criteria and their impact is both fascinating and horrifying to read as a participant in the world of academia. Additionally, with this being an election year, O’Neil’s chapter on the algorithms behind voter targeting is especially pertinent and enlightening. WashU’s motto is Per Veritatum Vis, Latin for “Strength Through Truth.” We as a community should strive to uncover the truth and help each other. The world will grow stronger from
Kelly Lennon
English and German Major Class of 2022
it. This book unveils many truths that empower us to question various aspects of life and demand change. It forces us to ask ourselves what social structures inform the way we go about our daily lives. We encourage you to consider how these concepts will apply to your experience at WashU as you embark on the next step in your journey. The Common Reading Program encourages you to discuss, debate, and engage these concepts with your peers in a conversation guided by a faculty member. This program will serve as the first of many traditions to help kick off your WashU
Shubham Tayal
Biology and Anthropology Major Class of 2022
experience.
Washington University in St. Louis | 4
RESPONSE PROMPTS As a participant in the Common Reading Program, you are asked to read Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil, respond to one of the following prompts, and engage in a faculty-led discussion about the book. Common Reading Program staff will communicate additional details regarding response submission and book discussions via email in late July. As you read Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, please consider your response to one of the following prompts.
5 | Common Reading Program
1. C RITICAL RESPONSE: O’Neil encourages her readers to examine the power associated with algorithms, noting the potential prejudice in data technology. Read Neil Postman’s short speech, “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change” (1998). Consider Postman’s second thesis (p.2) on the inequitable distribution of advantages and disadvantages amongst populations. Critique a technology that you previously had found little reason to explore. Consider the winners and losers, as well as the benefits and detriments in a concrete example. {~300 words} 2. C RITICAL RESPONSE: Throughout Weapons of Math Destruction, O’Neil contends that predictive mathematical models are “fundamentally moral,” imbued with the biases and desires of their creators. Do you agree? Is neutrality a desirable attribute of an algorithm? Is it ever possible for an algorithm to be neutral? Discuss algorithm neutrality utilizing a concrete example. {~300 words}
3. CRITICAL RESPONSE: In her book, O’Neil describes Weapons of Math Destruction (WMD) as algorithms that can lead to harmful outcomes such as impeding democracy and reinforcing inequality. Identify an aspect of society or culture not outlined in O’Neil’s book that you believe is impacted by WMD algorithms. Describe the aspect of society or culture you select, give examples of the impact you believe WMDs can have, and discuss what could be done to address or correct this impact. {~300 words} 4. NARRATIVE RESPONSE: O’Neil uses the term techno-utopia in her writing. Share your perspective on and understanding of this concept in the form of a personal narrative or work of flash fiction that illustrates what the idea of a techno-utopia means to you. {~300 words}
5. D ESIGN RESPONSE: O’Neil encourages savvy consumption of data. Produce an original creation (examples could include: poetry, TikTok, collage, 3D sculpture, data map, or infographic, etc.) to combine critical and creative strategies to design, redesign, or interpret data. Include a brief artist’s statement or caption that explains the relationship you have illustrated. {~100 words}
QUESTIONS? Please contact (314) 935-5040 or commonreadingprogram@wustl.edu for additional information.
Washington University in St. Louis | 6
For more information on the Common Reading Program, upcoming events, and other resources, visit our website at newstudents.wustl.edu.
COMMON READING PROGRAM Campus Box 1136 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 newstudents.wustl.edu 314.935.5040