Blog

Blending – not mashing

When I rub my hair with a towel, vigorously, my wife often says to me, “that’s a terrible thing to do to your hair”. I had that in mind when I spoke on the subject of blending, not mashing, data at a conference on cloud computing earlier this year. ...

Big Data and Maths Literacy

“I was lousy at maths at school”. This is a self-deprecating claim that is highly acceptable in polite company in the UK. It’s a claim close to being a badge of honour – worn with pride. In one sense therefore, this morning’s story...

Big data: how the hype is interfering with our lasagne

Ideas behind Big Data were put to the test on BBC’s Radio 4 this week and were found wanting. The programme was called Start the Week. Kenneth Cukier was on the Big Data side of the debate and Tiffany Jenkins sounded a loud note of caution on what she described...