The Information Revolution Is Tra... | Big Data: How

The authors identify three core shifts in how we handle information:

Big data often tells us that two things are related without explaining the underlying cause. For example, data once revealed that orange cars were half as likely to have defects; while the reason was unclear, the correlation alone was valuable for predicting vehicle reliability. Transformation Across Key Sectors Big Data: How the Information Revolution Is Tra...

In the past, data had to be meticulously cleaned because any error in a small sample was catastrophic. With massive datasets, a sense of general direction is often more valuable than knowing a phenomenon down to the "inch or atom". The authors identify three core shifts in how

Companies like Netflix and Amazon use "data exhaust"—the trail of digital interactions we leave behind—to forecast hits and provide personalized recommendations. Secondary uses of data, such as using global transaction records to forecast GDP, often hold more value than the data's original purpose. With massive datasets, a sense of general direction