The Tyranny of Metrics
by Jerry Z. Muller · first published 2018
19mentions
13recommended by
15HN commenters
2018–2025first – last mentioned
87% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
In-depth look at how metrics go wrong: we measure what is easy, people game the system, and real-world cases show metrics making things worse. Suits managers and anyone wary of data-driven fads.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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This idea always struck me as fairly misguided. It of course makes sense to try to muster evidence and data when making decisions but it's not some sort of panacea. The book The Tyranny of Metrics (https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Metrics-Jerry-Z-Muller/dp/069...) goes into the successes and failures of various attempts to use data for decision making in some detail. Found it to be an interesting…
on “Want more policies based on evidence?” ↗Exactly. I always forget its name tho. The book "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Muller talks about this phenomenon in depth, giving many historical examples of metrics making systems worse instead of better. Very good read, I'd recommend it to anyone.
on “GitHub is going down almost every day around the same time” ↗I highly recommend the book The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Muller for an in-depth look at these kinds of issues (in addition to Taleb’s work). Mistaking the map for the terrain (or any similar metaphor) whereby you think you know how things work solely…
on “The map is not the territory (2015)” ↗if you have the article I'd be interested in reading it and saving to my collections. Another more updated book that covers a similar theme published in 2018 is Jerry Muller's Tyranny of Metrics. 1. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174952/th...
on “The Tyranny of Numbers: Mismeasurement and Misrule (1995)” ↗Econtalk had a good interview this month on this general phenomenon discussing the book "The Tyranny of Metrics" http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2018/04/jerry_muller_on.htm...
on “Heart surgeons refuse difficult operations to avoid poor mortality ratings” ↗I recommend also "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Z. Muller [1] for a balance. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36644895-the-tyranny-of-...
on “Book recommendation: Measure what matters” ↗…there is a difference between leadership and management, so I'd say it's more of a management problem (with a lack of leadership). Check out the books "The Growth Delusion" by David Pilling and "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Muller if you're interested in this topic. I think this could potentially be a foundational problem in some western countries. Does a focus on GDP growth serve the people of the country, or…
on “Life is Better in places with lower GDP” ↗A whole book was written on this very topic: "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Z. Muller https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174952/th...
on “Be good-argument-driven, not data-driven” ↗> Exactly. I always forget its name tho. Me too! Fortunately, Google was smart enough to turn it up from "law about metrics". > The book "The Tyranny of Metrics" by Jerry Muller talks about this phenomenon in depth, giving many historical examples of metrics making systems worse instead of better. Very good read, I'd recommend it to anyone. Thanks! I'll have…
on “GitHub is going down almost every day around the same time” ↗Worth giving a read: The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Z. Muller.
on “But what if I want a faster horse?” ↗Check out "The Tyranny of Metrics" book for why this won't work. Weird to say it's simple.
on “L.A. students have high grades but low test scores” ↗This topic was discussed in the last EconTalk [1] podcast featuring the author of a recent book “The Tyranny of Metrics” [2]. I think one of the author’s interest insights is the distinction between metrics for diagnostics and those for incentives. 1. http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2018/04/_what_is_the_ap.htm... 2.…
on “Heart surgeons refuse difficult operations to avoid poor mortality ratings” ↗This is interesting because I think the problem is about what is measured, not what isn't. Have you happened to read the Tyranny of Metrics? It talks about how we measure what is easy to measure, then use that. And once others know what we're measuring, they game the system. So the moment something becomes a metric, it ceases to be a good…
on “Why Software Developers Suck at UX” ↗I wrote a blog post a few months ago about Goodhart's Law in my life, titled "Gamification, life, and the pursuit of a gold badge". https://web.eecs.utk.edu/~azh/blog/gamification.html The Tyranny of Metrics is a good book that covers real-world cases of metrics gone wrong.
on “Goodhart's Law” ↗…debt, and others who don't. Who knows which one I am? People seem to like me though. As others point out though, the moment something becomes a metric it ceases to be useful. Check out the book "The Tyranny of Metrics" for a breakdown of it.
on “Negative 2000 Lines of Code (1982)” ↗