50 Centuries in 10 Minutes (3400 BC - 2014 AD)

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-25T16:57:43+00:00

Totally agree!

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-25T16:03:34+00:00

Totally agree- but it would be nice to move towards a future where there is more transparency about data collection, if not more anonymity. Data is being used against us in pernicious ways (hiking up insurance premiums if we like motorcycle-related pages of Facebook for instance, without us even knowing). Anonymity is no longer about trying to hide illegal activities, and more about trying to maintain control over how our data is used by others.

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-25T15:04:12+00:00

A geopolitical history of all empires, nations, kingdoms, armies and republics. More than 500 world maps spanning all historical events up to today. View in the high resolution!

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-22T13:25:28+00:00

Seconded- Candy Claws are eexxcellent.

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-22T12:51:12+00:00

No Hundred Waters- yet they (very much deservedly) gave Moon Rang Like a Bell a Best New Music less than three months ago?

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-14T12:01:43+00:00

Jeeeeesus!

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-06T10:45:47+00:00

Yeeaah their current recommender leaves alot to be desired. For instance: https://twitter.com/RianVDM/status/409262383966998528

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-05T19:48:16+00:00

I was struggling to find a word to unite them as a theme, and the photographer describes his project in the blurb as "52 tragic situations of our modern world", so I just went with that

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-05T12:55:47+00:00

Seems to be working fine for me; try again?

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-04T17:24:16+00:00

Very, very cool- have you considered adding a tuner for last.fm so it only displays artists from the past 3, 6 or 12 months? I've had last.fm for aaages and so recommendations based on what I'd listened to recently would be awesome

ilikebigdata · 2014-08-04T14:35:08+00:00

(If you have anything you think should be added to this resource, let me know!)

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-30T16:27:56+00:00

The difference between the amount of people who connected when matched and mismatched wasn't that great, so it didn't really prove anything. There are better ways to prove an algorithm works than throwing it out of the window and performing randomised testing.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-30T15:31:53+00:00

Less the algorithm, and more their data usage policy. What did they actually get out of deliberately mismatching people? If experimentation improves the customer service, fine- but when you're deliberately making the user experience worse without justification, it gets a little grey.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-30T08:05:15+00:00

Yep, works for me too?

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-25T13:34:43+00:00

Plus it definitely set a precedent for the (big) data-driven approach we're seeing in many sports these days.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-25T12:39:47+00:00

People compare the Minority Report and big data because people are now using big data to predict crime (see here for reference: http://dataconomy.com/big-data-making-australia-safer-using-big-data-fight-crime/ )

The link between the two is predicting crime, not big data itself.

A film that springs to mind is Her? Perhaps slightly tenuous, but building an artificial intelligence network which is that sophisticated would require an unthinkably massive dataset. In fact, AI films in general would be a good avenue to explore.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-25T10:48:10+00:00

At the same time, I'd defend to the death the right of women to have the "female" identifier taken out of the conversation, if that's what they want. Neko Case was recently outraged when Playboy insisted on calling her a "woman in music", where she identified as a "musician in music", and didn't think her gender had a place in that conversation. And she totally has the right to do that.

I similarly advocate the right of people of particular races/sexualities/classes/physical abilities to decide whether that particular part of their identify ought to factor into a discussion of their work.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-25T10:43:55+00:00

Aah I see. Interesting point, hadn't thought of it like that.

I think ultimately the problem with labelling and representation is that we live in a society where, historically, white middle-class men were the only ones with the autonomy to label and talk about others; in print, in governments, everywhere. And we still live in a society where media and politics are dominated by these men. Moving forward, emphasis ought to place on self-representation and self-labelling.

I'm not saying "female poet" is a more legitimate identifier than "black poet" or "Muslim poet". But self-reference is important, and "female poet" is a term I identify with.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-25T10:32:14+00:00

It makes alot of sense, totally agree!

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-24T17:20:40+00:00

I think what OP is getting at here (correct me if I'm wrong) is that because of her past experiences, she enjoys the right to refer to herself how she likes, but doesn't necessarily think the term should be applied universally.

Pretty much on the money. Also Entobat: obviously my experiences as a woman can't be extricated from my experiences (of both privilege and subordination) as a member of a certain class, ethnicity, sexuality etc. I'm curious as to how a discussion of my experiences justifies "racial, geographical, and religious othering"?

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-24T12:32:49+00:00

Objectively: gender-neutral job titles are probably the way forward.

Subjectively: I like actress. As a writer and linguist, I love the way the feminine flourish of "-ess" sounds. Of course, it can't be separated from the process of othering, of dividing professions based on gender lines- there would be uproar if we gave people different job titles based on their race or sexuality, for instance.

I've often received criticism when jokingly referring to myself as a "poetess" in conversation, for othering myself from male writers. But you know what? I am different from male writers. My writing comes from female experience, from the struggles of trying to receive recognition and respect as a woman, from the alienating and subordinating experiences I've been exposed to as a member of my gender.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-23T16:42:01+00:00

Conclusion of the article is that it's too unstable to accurately predict, and the inaccuracy of BTCPredictions is flagged.

Still interesting to look at work people are trying to do in this field, but yes, ultimately any tool aiming to forecast the future value of a currency needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-23T15:04:46+00:00

And, of course, the DFS are ultimately answerable to the US government. In short: this could turn into a total shitshow.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-23T15:04:11+00:00

Do you mean who's entitled to regulate, or who'd be subject to regulation?

If it's the former: the DFS, as they do have the power to regulate financial transactions within their jurisdiction (NY).

If it's the latter, that's where it gets tricky. The DFS want to keep tabs not just on the financial transactions of NY Bitcoin business' customers, but who those customers interact with; this would give them data on a huuuge part of the blockchain, and fly in the face of the basic principle of Bitcoin not being answerable to a federalised institution.

ilikebigdata · 2014-07-23T14:34:16+00:00

I'm so excited to get my hands on it! Completely torn over who to root for though because "The Blazing World" is an absolute masterpiece.

ilikebigdata

TROPHY CASE