4 ms·

Read the abstract: Data analysts, not data analytics. The persons interested in these seem to have boring traits.

taubek 5y ago
Yeah, my mistake. But how can such person be considered boring? In my mind the are the persons that tackle the data, find connections where others don't see it, good at observing patterns...
- d7d7ectc 5y ago
  If you have to ask then you're probably boring outside your field. I work in property management and while it's fascinating to me I'm also aware that things like the story of the neighboring building with a staircase railing that's fine but implemented debateably within code will put the average person to sleep. Being interesting isn't about you it's about a two way interaction.
- 4ndr3vv 5y ago
  >But how can such person be considered boring? Consider a continuum from Boring to Exciting. Now place these jobs on them: - Firefighter - Rocket Scientist - Data Analyst They are more boring, ergo, they are the boring jobs.
  - cfcosta 5y ago
    Isn't "boring" also a function of "would I see myself doing this?"? People don't seem to find being an Uber driver boring, because you talk to people all day. This sounds extremely boring and tiresome to me.
- scantis 5y ago
  Don't worry, people on HN know what filthy beasts data analysts truly are. Everyone who digs that type of mathematics, is also doing some other naughty things for fun. What is surprising from this shotty paper is that they conclude boring people are perceived as "less competent". Seems counter-intuitive, considering accounting and taxes.
  - mattcwilson 5y ago
    I’m guessing you didn’t read the whole paper. Perhaps you thought it would be boring? They did two different studies. One took a list of occupations, and asked the respondents “Joe is an accountant. How boring does that make him seem, 1-7?” The other study then created a vignette combining attributes that were individually rated into a bigger description, then asked “how competent (skilled, hard-working) does this person seem?” So the connection is boringness -> low competency, and not necessarily all data analyst -> boring. Data analyst was down the list a bit on boringness - less than accounting, law, and a few others. Mathematics on the other hand had the lowest boringness rating of the occupations.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- spacemanmatt 5y ago
  > how can such person be considered boring? Have you met my constant companions, Dunning and Kruger?

Yeah, my mistake. But how can such person be considered boring? In my mind the are the persons that tackle the data, find connections where others don't see it, good at observing patterns...

d7d7ectc 5y ago
If you have to ask then you're probably boring outside your field. I work in property management and while it's fascinating to me I'm also aware that things like the story of the neighboring building with a staircase railing that's fine but implemented debateably within code will put the average person to sleep. Being interesting isn't about you it's about a two way interaction.
4ndr3vv 5y ago
>But how can such person be considered boring? Consider a continuum from Boring to Exciting. Now place these jobs on them: - Firefighter - Rocket Scientist - Data Analyst They are more boring, ergo, they are the boring jobs.
- cfcosta 5y ago
  Isn't "boring" also a function of "would I see myself doing this?"? People don't seem to find being an Uber driver boring, because you talk to people all day. This sounds extremely boring and tiresome to me.
scantis 5y ago
Don't worry, people on HN know what filthy beasts data analysts truly are. Everyone who digs that type of mathematics, is also doing some other naughty things for fun. What is surprising from this shotty paper is that they conclude boring people are perceived as "less competent". Seems counter-intuitive, considering accounting and taxes.
- mattcwilson 5y ago
  I’m guessing you didn’t read the whole paper. Perhaps you thought it would be boring? They did two different studies. One took a list of occupations, and asked the respondents “Joe is an accountant. How boring does that make him seem, 1-7?” The other study then created a vignette combining attributes that were individually rated into a bigger description, then asked “how competent (skilled, hard-working) does this person seem?” So the connection is boringness -> low competency, and not necessarily all data analyst -> boring. Data analyst was down the list a bit on boringness - less than accounting, law, and a few others. Mathematics on the other hand had the lowest boringness rating of the occupations.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
spacemanmatt 5y ago
> how can such person be considered boring? Have you met my constant companions, Dunning and Kruger?