Duncan J. Watts is the Stevens University Professor and the Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds appointments at the Annenberg School for Communication, the Department of Computer and Information Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Department of Operations, Information and Decisions in the Wharton School.
He has pioneered the use of datasets to study social networks, has worked in both academia and the technology industry, and is the author of three books. The most recent, Everything Is Obvious: *Once You Know the Answer (2011), draws on scientific research to demonstrate how common sense and history can lead us to believe we understand more about human behavior than we do, often leading policymakers and business leaders to make misguided decisions. His Carnegie project aims to deepen our understanding of misinformation and its consequences for democracy, culminating in the production of interactive dashboards that will enable journalists, policymakers, and members of the public to ground policy discussions in facts and evidence.
