The limits of big data  The Daily Circuit   1. Listen Story
audio   We've been hearing a lot about the power of "big data"
and how harnessing the increasing amount of data being compiled
about individuals can change the way we live. But are there
limits to what we can learn from data?  Samuel Arbesman, an
applied mathematician and network scientist, wrote about data
for Wired. He said we need to be thinking about long data:   We
did it in buildings and now we're doing it in data. Sure, big
data is a powerful lens -- some would even argue a liberating
one -- for looking at our world. Despite its limitations and
requirements, crunching big numbers can help us learn a lot
about ourselves.  But no matter how big that data is or what
insights we glean from it, it is still just a snapshot: a moment
in time. That's why I think we need to stop getting stuck only
on big data and start thinking about long data.  Arbesman will
join The Daily Circuit Monday Feb. 25 to talk about data.   Stop
hyping big data and start pay