http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2002-20-2013.mp3
You have probably heard the phrase Big Data, but do you know what it means? Ninety-nine percent of people who like poodles, coconut water, needlecraft do not know what Big Data is. And that may include me, even though I only like one of those things.
But here's what I think it means. Big Data refers to the modern ability to collect and store
trillions of facts and then analyze them using hundreds of millions of math programs. Big Data allows its practitioners to see correlations we never would have guessed existed. It can predict good and bad years for wine and Supreme Court decisions and whether a specific medicine will work for you.
It can probably tell us whether a specific convict should be paroled. I mean, it can predict with uncanny accuracy whether that person will commit more crimes.
But how many important decisions should we just turn over to Big Data?
You can join the conversation. E-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
