As presented in Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier’s novel’s Big Data, big data is “...the ability of society to harness information in novel ways to produce useful insights…” (2). The advent of new technology allows vast amounts of data to be accessed and collected. There is an overabundance of data on nearly everything, and this data is used to answer questions and provide a better understanding of the world, things that were difficult and time consuming to do before the emergence of big data. Big data offers many enticing positives. For example, we have the ability to predict the onset of the flu, the emergence of cancer, or even apartment fires (Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier 1, 195). Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier, however, suggest
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Before the increased presence of big data technology, companies hired people based on instinct and intuition. Don Peck discusses the shift to a reliance on big data in his article “They’re Watching You at Work.” Peck explores the changing practices in the hiring of employees. More and more companies are employing data-driven hiring techniques due to the ease in finding the best employees, and because this data “...offers a company a sharp edge over basic human intuition…” (Peck 8). This assumption contends that because of the world’s new computable nature, we must rely on big data because we have lost the ability to make decisions based on our own intuition or critical thought. This new hiring concept is not revolutionary or even something relatively new. Peck points to 1950’s America as a point of contention. He states that corporations “...conducted a battery of tests…” in order to find the best potential employees (Peck 3). Back then, however, their tests and data-driven approach was deemed ineffective because “...many of their methods of evaluation turned out not to be very scientific” (Peck 3). This caused a shift back to human critical thought and intuition in the hiring process. Their “scientific” methods, though outdated by today’s standards, reflected the same hiring practices that companies are increasing to use now. Back …show more content…
Questioning existing ideas and incorporating individual thought allows us to maximize big data’s potential. In Big Data, Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier depict US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s downfall when he relied solely on the body count to illustrate the progress of the Vietnam War (164). McNamara never questioned the data for its value, worth, or quality because he was not invested in the data. He was detached. The quantitative nature of the body count data encouraged him to take the numbers at face value. McNamara should have combined his own thinking with the thinking of his subordinates and the data. Taking data, incorporating your own thoughts and ideas, and questioning it is critical. This process invites critical thinking and discourages taking something at face
Before the increased presence of big data technology, companies hired people based on instinct and intuition. Don Peck discusses the shift to a reliance on big data in his article “They’re Watching You at Work.” Peck explores the changing practices in the hiring of employees. More and more companies are employing data-driven hiring techniques due to the ease in finding the best employees, and because this data “...offers a company a sharp edge over basic human intuition…” (Peck 8). This assumption contends that because of the world’s new computable nature, we must rely on big data because we have lost the ability to make decisions based on our own intuition or critical thought. This new hiring concept is not revolutionary or even something relatively new. Peck points to 1950’s America as a point of contention. He states that corporations “...conducted a battery of tests…” in order to find the best potential employees (Peck 3). Back then, however, their tests and data-driven approach was deemed ineffective because “...many of their methods of evaluation turned out not to be very scientific” (Peck 3). This caused a shift back to human critical thought and intuition in the hiring process. Their “scientific” methods, though outdated by today’s standards, reflected the same hiring practices that companies are increasing to use now. Back …show more content…
Questioning existing ideas and incorporating individual thought allows us to maximize big data’s potential. In Big Data, Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier depict US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s downfall when he relied solely on the body count to illustrate the progress of the Vietnam War (164). McNamara never questioned the data for its value, worth, or quality because he was not invested in the data. He was detached. The quantitative nature of the body count data encouraged him to take the numbers at face value. McNamara should have combined his own thinking with the thinking of his subordinates and the data. Taking data, incorporating your own thoughts and ideas, and questioning it is critical. This process invites critical thinking and discourages taking something at face