For consulting, speaking, or workshop requests, please email Seth at seth.stephens@gmail.com.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a data scientist, New York Times bestselling author, and sought-after keynote speaker.
His 2017 book, Everybody Lies, about the secrets revealed in internet data, was a New York Times bestseller; a Wall Street Journal Bestseller; a PBS NewsHour Book of the Year; an Economist Book of the Year; and an Amazon Best Business Book of the Year. The book included a foreword by Harvard’s Steven Pinker, who wrote, “This book is about a whole new way of studying the mind … Time and again my preconceptions about my country and my species were turned upside-down by Seth’s discoveries … With unflagging curiosity and an endearing wit, Seth points to a new path for social science in the twenty-first century.” A review in Bloomberg said the book “argues persuasively for a mutiny in social science.” Bill Gates called the book “super interesting” and said that it was pivotal in directing his attention to how Big Data could improve the world. Larry Summers said it was “brilliant.” And Chris Cillizza of CNN labeled it “one of the most important books written in the last decade.”
Seth’s 2022 book, Don’t Trust Your Gut, on how people can use data to best achieve their life goals, was excerpted in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and Wired. A review in the Guardian called it “a highly valuable addition to the self-help canon.” Steve Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics, said, “Seth is as good a data storyteller as I have ever met.”
Seth’s 2023 book, Who Makes the NBA, was an experimental exploration of how AI can transform the creative process — and was praised by NBA players, sports executives, and technologists.
Seth has worked as a data scientist at Google; a writer for the New York Times; and a visiting lecturer at Wharton. He has published research in top academic journals and received the 2018 Dick Wittink Award for the best paper published in the journal Quantitative Marketing and Economics.
Seth has consulted for top companies, including Citadel, East Rock Capital, TCI, GSK, and TetraPak. He partnered with Oracle on the ground-breaking Decision Dilemma study. He has spoken at the Sohn Conference, one of the highest-profile events in the finance industry, and to companies including FactSet, Lazard, Weight Watchers, Booz Allen Hamilton, Point 72, Diameter Capital Partners, Abbott, Nasdaq, Google, and dozens of others.
Seth received a BA in philosophy from Stanford, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and a PhD in economics from Harvard.
In 2019, he received an honorary diploma from the school of economics of the National University of General San Martín in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He is also a graduate of the American Comedy Institute, where he studied while he was burnt out on academia and dreaming of being a stand-up comedian. His comedy mentor convinced him not to try to be a full-time stand-up comedian but instead return to his PhD program and aim to be “an unusually funny economist.” He does now incorporate humor in his business talks.
In high school, Seth wrote obituaries for the local newspaper, the Bergen Record, and was a juggler in theatrical shows. (He can incorporate juggling in his keynote addresses, upon request). He lives in Brooklyn and is a passionate fan of the Mets, Knicks, Jets, and the late Leonard Cohen. (In September 2023, Seth took a pilgrimage to visit Mr. Cohen’s grave in Montreal.)
“Seth was the keynote speaker at our recent Board dinner, and his presentation was the highlight of the event. For the next two days during our strategic discussions, we continually referred to points Seth made. He made us laugh as hard as he made us think, and we look forward to having him join us again at future events.”
“Seth’s research will take what you think you know about yourself and your peers and flips it on its head. A compelling narrative for any marketer seeking to better understand the real wants and needs of their consumers. ”
“We couldn’t be happier with Seth’s presentation to our Digital Marketing, Content Creation and IT teams at Abbott’s recent E-Summit. He was great to work with, focusing on those areas of his research we felt would resonate best with our colleagues. His delivery was sharp, engaging and funny and he received a perfect five of five stars from all attendees who answered the conference survey. We hope he is available next time we need an engaging speaker.”
“Seth’s curious intellect leaves no subject unturned – his talk was both wonderfully educational and entertaining backed by real data and thorough research.
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“Seth gave an amazing talk at The Sohn Conference. It was both informative and funny, and afterwards, guests kept on telling me how much they got from Seth’s talk. I highly recommend Seth any time you need a speaker to give cutting-edge insights, all while showing you a really good time.”