3 ms·

The thing is that you really ~can~ just say that. Statistical analysts aren't f-ing around when it comes to analyzing data and are capable of some extremely mag

The thing is that you really ~can~ just say that. Statistical analysts aren't f-ing around when it comes to analyzing data and are capable of some extremely magical things that you can't just "pick up" randomly simply by working on data a lot. Just like you can't randomly understand the fundamentals of software engineering like data structures & algorithms without first studying the concepts directly. Hey I'm totally fine if people don't like what they're reading though. It gives me a competitive edge for any company I work for if everyone else is against the idea. ;)

anamax 15y ago
> Statistical analysts aren't f-ing around when it comes to analyzing data and are capable of some extremely magical things What makes you so sure that "Biz Intelligence" folks aren't doing that?
kevinalexbrown 15y ago
Because it's frankly the same thing, you're just defining one name for the people who do it well, and one name for the people who don't. I work with extremely large data sets. Yay. I can call myself a Data Scientist to be in vogue and gain "competitive edge" with people who care about the name I call myself instead of what I'm capable of. I can emphasize that I didn't just "pick up" things randomly, but that I got an abstract mathematics degree. But I'd prefer to be known by what I can do, not my particular label. "No, no I'm not a programmer, I'm an engineer, which gives me a competitive advantage!" -- Whatever, how well can you code?
- spaznode 15y ago
  I work with multi terabyte data sets myself as a software engineer, but after working with these people am not under the mistaken impression that I'm a data scientist of the kind described in the article. I wouldn't have known this about myself before working with and seeing what they do firsthand of course. That's kind of my main point.

3 ms·

The thing is that you really ~can~ just say that. Statistical analysts aren't f-ing around when it comes to analyzing data and are capable of some extremely mag

by spaznode 15y ago

anamax 15y ago
> Statistical analysts aren't f-ing around when it comes to analyzing data and are capable of some extremely magical things What makes you so sure that "Biz Intelligence" folks aren't doing that?
kevinalexbrown 15y ago
Because it's frankly the same thing, you're just defining one name for the people who do it well, and one name for the people who don't. I work with extremely large data sets. Yay. I can call myself a Data Scientist to be in vogue and gain "competitive edge" with people who care about the name I call myself instead of what I'm capable of. I can emphasize that I didn't just "pick up" things randomly, but that I got an abstract mathematics degree. But I'd prefer to be known by what I can do, not my particular label. "No, no I'm not a programmer, I'm an engineer, which gives me a competitive advantage!" -- Whatever, how well can you code?
- spaznode 15y ago
  I work with multi terabyte data sets myself as a software engineer, but after working with these people am not under the mistaken impression that I'm a data scientist of the kind described in the article. I wouldn't have known this about myself before working with and seeing what they do firsthand of course. That's kind of my main point.