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The Numerati

By Carrie Porter, Special to the Rocky

Published October 16, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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* Nonfiction. By Stephen Baker. Houghton Mifflin, $26. Grade: A-

Plot in a nutshell: If memories of algorithms in math class make you cringe, brace yourself for a future where everything - from the groceries you buy to the lovers you choose -can be explained with numbers. Or so goes the argument of journalist Baker in his new book The Numerati.

The author guides the reader through a detailed look at the current progress of mathematicians and consultants, deemed the "Numerati," who use the Internet's overwhelming wellspring of data to quantify every aspect of our lives. Baker calls it the "mathematical modeling of humanity," and addresses the various facets of daily life with chapters such as "Worker," "Shopper," "Voter," "Patient" and "Lover. "

The longtime BusinessWeek writer knows how to weave a story, spanning the country to talk with the Numerati hot shots who will one day control our lives with data, he says. Baker even makes a stop in Boulder to visit Umbria Communications, a company that analyzes blogs.

"We turn the world of blogs into math . . . and then we turn you into math," says the company president.

If this disturbs you, don't turn off all the electronics and move into an ashram just yet. Baker adds a list of lessons for the future in his conclusion that hints at optimism.

Best tidbit: In a leap of faith, Baker convinces his wife to test the accuracy of matchmaking Web sites by registering at Chemistry.com and seeing whether the two of them will be united by computer. It appears that their marriage was perhaps a folly, until Baker realizes he had set his wife's age limit in the wrong bracket. Marital crisis averted.

Pros: Baker does an excellent job of breaking down the concepts into simple, easy-to-digest terms. The book also is thoroughly reported and gives a comprehensive view of all aspects of our lives from the perspective of the Numerati. After reading this book, you walk away with a more realistic, albeit perhaps paranoid, outlook at the future.

Cons: Some parts of the book put you to sleep. By the time you make it to chapter five, "Terrorist," the looming threat of the Numerati is sufficiently clear, and redundancy is an equally palpable threat.

Final word: Despite sometimes inducing sleep, the book is a wake-up call. Read it and weep for the good old days before the Internet made life a commodity.