4 ms·
Misleading clickbait title - the article delivers on "how to call BS on statistical claims" (and does that well), but it has nigh-on nothing to do with Big Data
by MagnumOpus 9y ago
Misleading clickbait title - the article delivers on "how to call BS on statistical claims" (and does that well), but it has nigh-on nothing to do with Big Data.
- uncletaco 9y agoAs with many other publications, the author of the story had nothing to do with the titling of it.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- lwansbrough 9y agoSo... the author is using Big Data as a B.S. buzz word?
- Stratoscope 9y agoIt seems a bit unfair to call the title clickbait when the article is about a course named "Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data".
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- refurb 9y agoWhy? It provides a few examples of big data failures such as "Google Flu Trends" to support their hypothesis.
- cwyers 9y agoI think this is part of a trend on HN called "defining clickbait down." Clickbait is deliberately withholding information or writing a headline in such a way as to prompt a click to figure out what the article is about. "10 Celebrities You Never Knew Were Gay, #8 Will Surprise You!" And at least one of the celebrities is Ellen DeGeneres. "You Won't Believe What Happens When This Homeless Man Doesn't Have Money For Food!" Someone buys him lunch. That's clickbait. The title to this is just a title. It's not clickbait.
- soared 9y agoI'd add to your definition and include anytime an author adds a buzzword that is irrelevant or not mentioned in the article. Then OP's claim that this is clickbait would be true - its for statistics and not big data. So "How to Call B.S. On Big Data: A Practical Guide" is clickbait, but "How to Call B.S. On Statistical Claims: A Practical Guide" is not.
- cwyers 9y agoI disagree with this definition, and even if I did agree I think this doesn't describe the article. As just one example: > Beware of Big Data hubris. TheGoogle Flu Trends project, which claimed, with much fanfare, to anticipate seasonal flu outbreaks by tracking user searches for flu-related terms, proved to be a less reliable predictor of outbreaks than a simple model of local temperatures. (One problem was that Google’s algorithm was hoodwinked by meaningless correlations—between flu outbreaks and high-school basketball seasons, for example, both of which occur in winter.) Like all data-based claims, if an algorithm’s abilities sound too good to be true, they probably are. If that's not a claim about Big Data, then what is?
- ouid 9y agoClickbait is whenever your title has less information than your article.
- technics256 9y agoThe syllabus of the course contains sectionsbclearly regarding big data, and name them so.
- mr_tristan 9y agoThe underlying course has a video series on Youtube with a very very close proximity to the title: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPnZfvKID1Sje5jWxt-4CSZD7bUI4gSPS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPnZfvKID1Sje5jWxt-4C...
- sideshowb 9y agoI too thought it would be more specific. Nowhere does it mention sample selection bias, the scourge of most "big" datasets I've been offered. Quantity can't always compensate for lack of quality.