insights

Some people equate predictive modelling with data science, thinking that mastering various machine learning techniques is the key that unlocks the mysteries of the field. However, there is much more to data science than the What and How of predictive modelling. I recently gave a talk where I argued the importance of asking Why, touching on three different topics: stakeholder motives, cause-and-effect relationships, and finding a sense of purpose. A video of the talk is available below....

Background: I have previously written about the need for real insights that address the why behind events, not only the what and how. This was followed by a fairly popular post on causality, which was heavily influenced by Samantha Kleinberg's book Why: A Guide to Finding and Using Causes. This post continues my exploration of the field, and is primarily based on Kleinberg's previous book: Causality, Probability, and Time. The study of causality and causal inference is central to science in general and data science in particular....

Everywhere you go these days, you hear about deep learning’s impressive advancements. New deep learning libraries, tools, and products get announced on a regular basis, making the average data scientist feel like they’re missing out if they don’t hop on the deep learning bandwagon. However, as Kamil Bartocha put it in his post The Inconvenient Truth About Data Science, 95% of tasks do not require deep learning. This is obviously a made up number, but it’s probably an accurate representation of the everyday reality of many data scientists....

Merriam-Webster defines an insight as an understanding of the true nature of something. Many companies seem to define an insight as any piece of data or information, which I would call a pseudo-insight. This post surveys some examples of pseudo-insights, and discusses how these can be built upon to provide real insights. Exhibit A: WordPress stats This website is hosted on wordpress.com. I’m generally happy with WordPress – though it’s not as exciting and shiny as newer competitors, it is rock-solid and very feature-rich....