What is the role of the humanities in the age of the algorithm?
Big data was supposed to have all the answers…but then it didn’t. In this episode we discuss the role the humanities have in the age of the algorithm. We look at the 5 principles for understanding the data we receive and the 4 ways to structure your knowledge. Also, we talk about fencing(!?!)….en garde!
What you will learn:
4 Stages of mastery:
- Unconscious incompetence
- Conscious incompetence
- Conscious competence
- Unconscious competence
Big data is the recipe –
- We need to make the cake
4 ways to know something:
- Objective – things that are true regardless of any other beliefs a person holds
- Subjective – I’m cold, it’s getting late etc
- Shared knowledge – e.g. the ‘Jewish’ experience
- Sensory – just having a sense of something. Can’t put your finger on why you know it is true.
Sensemaking is about using all of these in concert.
People not individuals –
- Add in cultural context
Thick data vs Thin data –
- Thin = 86% of Americans drink 6 litres of milk per week
- Thick = what milk means to them and why?
Human behaviour –
- Better understood in social context not the abstract
- Look at data on the Savannah not the zoo
Logic is one element –
- You need immersion
- Hold lots of ideas in your head at one time to decide what data means
Not data alone –
- Attune to the world