Predictionsunderlienearlyeveryaspectofourlives,fromsports,politics,andmedicaldecisionstothemorningcommute.Withtheexplosionofdigitaltechnology,theinternet,and“bigdata,”thescienceofforecastingisflourishing.Butwhydosomepredictionssucceedspectacularlywhileothersfailabysmally?Andhowcanwefindmeaningfulpatternsamidstchaosanduncertainty?FromtheglitzofcasinosandTVgameshowstothelife-and-deathstakesofstormforecastsandtheflawsofopinionpollsthatcanswinganelection,“PredictionbytheNumbers”exploresstoriesofstatisticsinaction.Yetadvancesinmachinelearningandbigdatamodelsthatincreasinglyruleourlivesarealsoposingbig,disturbingquestions.Howmuchshouldwetrustpredictionsmadebyalgorithmswhenwedon’tunderstandhowtheyarriveatthem?Andhowfaraheadcanwereallyforecast?