Unless you’re a hermit, chances are good that your life is touched by SAS (pronounced “sass”) almost every day.

Have you ever received an offer for a credit card in the mail? The bank might have used SAS to select you for the particular offer you received. Remember a recent news article that cited demographic trends in the United States? The Census Bureau uses SAS to crunch its numbers. Were you tempted to buy that new gadget in a big-name retail store? The corporate office might have used SAS to calculate the best price to set for that specific item on that specific week.

The rate you pay for life insurance, the analysis behind pharmaceutical drug trials, the quality of parts used to assemble your automobile — all these are determined by people who use SAS. You don’t see SAS directly from day to day — but, like gravity, it’s an invisible force that affects your life.

This book offers a prolonged glimpse into the multifaceted world of SAS software. Read on to discover how people use SAS to influence the world around you. Perhaps you’ll see how to grab the reins yourself and use SAS to affect your own sphere of influence.