We sat down recently to talk data and insight. Here is what we talked about, plus a little video of me talking about insight at both zeebox and EMI.

I don't like the term 'scientist' as it makes the role sound unaccessible and elite. Google's Hal Varian said "the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians" ... but I don't like that term either. I'd replace 'statisticians' with 'working with data' or something ... and then I believe it!  I think data people have a tendency to overplay the role of the 'statistics' and magic of it and underplay the importance of the 'bringing it to life' and 'helping people understand / make use of it' parts of working with data.

I thought about this because of this cool article in The Guardian about data scientists.

As it points out, "science" is defined as "systematic study of natural or physical phenomena". I guess that's us all. Perhaps I shouldn't shy away from that phrase.

The journalist describes the role well, as "someone who can bridge the raw data and the analysis - and make it accessible. It's a democratising role; by bringing the data to the people, you make the world just a little bit better." Perfect, eh?

One last quote: "the four qualities of a great data scientist are creativity, tenacity, curiosity, and deep technical skills." That list sounds pretty good to me, also. So perhaps I should rename this the 'data scientist' blog and be done :)



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So much data, so easily displayed in such a small but easy to understand format. I need say no more.
So much for trying hard to bring data to life and make it easier to use.
Waiting for a plane to take off on a cold, rainy heathrow runway just

now, a thought occurred to me about one reason I love data and helping

people use data.
It's amazing how difficult it is to make sense of large numbers. I think they really do need to be compared to something to make sense. I loved an approach that the New York Times took a couple of years back.

The following is another great example from an email forward that I just got.
... or so it might seem if you take polling results seriously.

In a recent poll, 9% of New Yorkers said they were planning to head to DC for the event. There are about 16 million adults in the New York area, suggesting 1.4 million people planned to make the trip.
There are some occasions where you need to keep your data gathering quiet!

From the excellent XKCD. 

I also love this one.
There was a nice little chart in the Wall Street Journal yesterday showing clearly how central banks are racing interest rates towards zero.
I just got around to reading Science News' article on how Forence Nightingale was a pioneer in using novel and innovative charts to present data. Apparently she went to great lengths to do so in order to convince Queen Victoria of the need for social change.
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