Data Today: Big Ideas, ANN, Weak Anonymization

Small data masquerading as big data.  View in browser >

1. Big Data's Big Ideas From cognitive augmentation to artificial intelligence, Ben Lorica takes a look at the major forces shaping the data world—complete with some really useful examples and related resources for each of the issues influencing data today. 2. Not Delusional, Not a Boondoggle, Just a Few Decades of Hard Work In an interesting interview on IEEE Spectrum, Michael Jordan discusses big data as a "major engineering and mathematical challenge, one that will not be solved by just gluing together a few existing ideas from statistics, optimization, databases and computer systems." But, he says, in spite of the title of the article, he does not feel that big data is a delusion or a boondoggle. Read the original article, but also readhis response to it for a better picture of how he really feels about the challenges of big data. (If you attend Hardcore Data Science Day at Strata + Hadoop World in San Jose in February, you'll have a chance to meet Mike.) 3. Does the Artificial Neural Network Algorithm Work? And how does it work? Tavish Srivastava explains the ANN framework. 4. Talking Data: 5 Interesting Data Talks Sit back and listen. Here are a few recent data talks we found interesting: Tim O'Reilly and Doug Cutting reframe the debate about data and privacy. Susan Etlinger explains why we need to deepen our critical thinking skills. Karen Moon discusses "StyleStalking." John Rauser explains pain-free stats. Bob Mankooff says there’s no algorithm for humour, but he’s looking. (And he answers the age-old question: are women funnier than men?) Want More? See the Top 10 Talks from Strata + Hadoop World New York. 5. Not a Commodity Data doesn’t comply with supply & demand models, argues Shahbaz Ali, because by aggregating individual data points over time, the value becomes greater than the sum of its parts. 6. It's About Time (Series) Ellen Friedman and Ted Dunning (authors of the FREE ebook Time Series Databases: New Ways to Store and Access Data) discuss time series databases in this post. 7. Toast to Crumbs (and Back Again) James Faghmous describes the pitfalls of small data masquerading as big data. 8. Speak at Strata + Hadoop World 2015 in London We’re currently planning Strata + Hadoop World in London, happening 5-7 May 2015. We're looking for speakers to share compelling data case studies, proven best practices, effective new analytic approaches, and exceptional technical skills to a talented and technical audience. Take a look at the topics we're most interested in, and our tips for a great proposal. Deadline for proposals is 24 November 2014. Submit a Proposal → 9. Creepy A weak—and ultimately unsuccessful—attempt to anonymize data allows you to see how well celebrities tip taxi drivers. And where they go when they get into cabs. 10. Freebie of the Week: I Heart Logs Get chapter one from the new book I Heart Logs: Event Data, Stream Processing, and Data Integration by Jay Kreps, free. Get Chapter 1 Free →