3 ms·

Very fun application of big data and I love the choice of the source itself. I was puzzled at first how one could accurately assess the popularity of a hairstyl

Very fun application of big data and I love the choice of the source itself. I was puzzled at first how one could accurately assess the popularity of a hairstyle because, depending on the type of person asked, the result would be skewed. But this is smart because everybody got their best look for the yearbook photo (however regrettable that look may be in the future is debatable) so anybody who liked big hair at that moment would have it for the photo. Plus, yearbooks were collected from all over America so there's less chance of the data being skewed toward the 'hipper' states. (I'm not an expert on which states those would be but I'm presuming places like California and New York are closer to the top in that ranking?)

soylentcola 7y ago
> But this is smart because everybody got their best look for the yearbook photo Ugh. Thinking back I remember quite a few years where mine was particularly bad because my folks always wanted me to get a haircut right before yearbook photos...and a haircut usually meant my dad exercising his questionable scissor-and-clipper skills in the basement. Bad bowl-looking cuts when I was really young (just comb it down and I'll cut whatever hangs past your eyebrows!) and stair-step "fades" on the sides when I was a little older (never learned how to blend so it was just switching up the guard as you go up from ears to the longer parts on top.) I can laugh about it now because I also remember "graduating" to cutting my own since at least then, the questionable results were my own fault. It's definitely not easy even with multiple mirror angles and a bit of practice. I did get decent at it by the time I was old enough to just pay the $20 every month for something that actually looked good. Now my partner is a stylist and she gives me free haircuts in the kitchen whenever it gets to the point where I start bugging her again. I'm pretty sure my dad doesn't take offense that I've switched barbers.

soylentcola 7y ago

> But this is smart because everybody got their best look for the yearbook photo Ugh. Thinking back I remember quite a few years where mine was particularly bad because my folks always wanted me to get a haircut right before yearbook photos...and a haircut usually meant my dad exercising his questionable scissor-and-clipper skills in the basement. Bad bowl-looking cuts when I was really young (just comb it down and I'll cut whatever hangs past your eyebrows!) and stair-step "fades" on the sides when I was a little older (never learned how to blend so it was just switching up the guard as you go up from ears to the longer parts on top.) I can laugh about it now because I also remember "graduating" to cutting my own since at least then, the questionable results were my own fault. It's definitely not easy even with multiple mirror angles and a bit of practice. I did get decent at it by the time I was old enough to just pay the $20 every month for something that actually looked good. Now my partner is a stylist and she gives me free haircuts in the kitchen whenever it gets to the point where I start bugging her again. I'm pretty sure my dad doesn't take offense that I've switched barbers.