The word “revolution” has become commonplace among big data proponents for characterizing changes brought about by new analytics tools and the associated technologies. Some have argued that big data analytics herald the “end of theory” or of uncertainty about the future or of traditional sample-based testing methods. While almost invariably overblown, such proclamations are nevertheless right that big data is revolutionary. But what kind of revolution is it?
So begins a brilliant post by M. Anthony Mills for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Mills reflects on the history of the data sciences, and how our conception of knowledge has changed over time. We may not be able to predict all the ramifications of Big Data, but we know that it will greatly improve our ability to predict events. Agile minds are needed, to think differently, and realize the full potential of the data available to us. Those of you with agile minds should enjoy reading Mills’ blog.
Hi Eric
The post by M.Anthony Mills is indeed brilliant. Big data analytics is changing the way scientific inquiry and business decisions are being made. As Anthony mentioned, application of probability theory to scientific inquiry during 19th century created a whole new framework for thinking scientific inquiry. Similar revolution is happening with Big data technology now; knowledge acquisition, innovation and scientific inquiry can happen much faster now.
The other day I stumbled upon this…. Give people data and lets see what they do with it. That will answer the question: “what kind of revolution is it?” More processing power and faster networks with more capacity are sure to help as well…