Infomancy

What is infomancy?

The outside claims this piece leans on, and where they come from. Each note says what the source looked at, so you can judge how far it stretches.

Ben Goldacre helps people understand what evidence means, where it can mislead, and why interpretation matters
Goldacre, B. (2008) Bad Science. Fourth Estate; also Bad Pharma (2012) and the Guardian 'Bad Science' column (2003–2011).
Goldacre is a British doctor and academic whose books and Guardian column (2003–2011) explain how medical and scientific evidence is misreported and misused.
Hannah Fry makes mathematics, algorithms and probability understandable to general audiences
Fry, H. (2018) Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine; Fry, H. (2015) The Mathematics of Love. Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics, University of Cambridge (from Jan 2025).
Fry is a mathematician and broadcaster; her books cover algorithms (Hello World, 2018) and the maths of relationships (2015). Since 2025 she has been Cambridge's Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics.
Infomancy is not a formal term
No dictionary or formal/academic definition found. Earliest informal use found: Urban Dictionary 'infomancer' entry, 20 Oct 2007 ('conjuring information from the chaos'; also 'librarian').
No formal definition of 'infomancy' was found. 'Infomancer' has circulated as informal slang since at least 2007 (Urban Dictionary).