Data Science: for Fun and for Profit

In the next few weeks I’ll be giving two talks on the topic of Data Science at Xebicon and another event affiliated with Xebia. There is an abstract of my spiel available on the Xebicon site.

Data Science is one of the most exciting developing fields in technology today. Ever expanding data sets and increasing computing power allow statisticians and computing scientists to explore new business opportunities that were simply not possible merely a few years ago. Although their applications are new, the ideas and techniques that form the underpinnings for this evidence-oriented discipline have a solid foundation in hundreds of years of scientific development. In order then to understand the new science of data, one must first understand the science of science.

The Scientific Method, the unintended effects of repeated significance testing and Simpson’s paradox: this talk will focus on the practical applications of the theoretical constructs that lie at the heart of Data Science; and expand on some potential pitfalls of statistical analysis that you are likely to encounter when venturing into the field.

If you’re interested, feel free to sign up for either event. I’ll also post slides and additional thoughts here afterwards.

A New Kind Of Science?

I am no longer a Corporate Ninja. As of a few weeks ago I can now call myself “Data Scientist at Booking.com“.

Although I am really excited about the new challenges and opportunities that await me in the sexiest job of the 21st century, I must say this new title bothers me ever so slightly. It somehow seems so redundant.

If you’re not using data, is it really science?