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Back in the good old days, Data Science used to be called Statistics.
by yen223 14y ago
Back in the good old days, Data Science used to be called Statistics.
- spikels 14y agoStatistics (noun) - The practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities. http://www.google.com/search?q=definition+statistics http://www.google.com/search?q=definition+statistics And I would argue that qualification that the data be "numerical" in this definition is wrong. Plenty of statistical analysis invokes categorical text data (e.g. sex, race, occupation...).
- stdbrouw 14y agoI used to feel the same way, but (1) calling it statistics downplays the importance of data munging and grabbing/normalizing/managing data and (2) the advent of computational methods and off-the-shelf machine learning and natural language analysis has turned statistics into "one tool in our toolbox" rather than The Tool. And frankly, even if data science is just statistics rebranded, anything that can get more people to take an interest in statistics is a good thing. If a hype-fueled new sticker is what it takes, then why not.