Big data’s watchful eye
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes: the Hound of the Baskerville, 28 (ebook pub. 2016)
What is big data?
- Report to the President
“There are many definitions of big data which may differ depending on whether you are a computer scientist, a financial analyst, or an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a venture capitalist. Most definitions reflect the growing technological ability to capture, aggregate, and process an ever-greater volume, velocity and variety of data.”
— Executive Office of the President. Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values. May 1, 2014.
Sorting out of large collections of data by powerful computers to visualize unexpected connections or correlations. – Jules J. Berman. Principles of Big Data: Preparing, Sharing, and Analysing Complex Information. Elsevier 2013.
Machine-learning tools and predictive analytics allow educated guesses about what the correlatiions mean. – Steve Lohr. Amid the Flood, a Catchphrase is Born. N. Y. Times. August 12, 2012, page BU3. Online version, with another title name: “The Age of Big Data”, is available here.
Examples
Amazon
Walmart