That’s what a sign read in the office of a (disgruntled?) statistician. Joking aside, this is an extraordinary book, a sign of the times, where data is, as Microsoft put it, the new form of energy. With this book you will be able to discover just how wide-ranging—and beautiful—working with data can be. From social data analysis to the “life in data” and the story of the DNA, and Radiohead’s house of cards, to image data processing of Mars, information platforms and the rise of the data scientist, in between. Discover and better understand the “raw material” of the Web and business decisions. The book presents in 20 mind stimulating chapters, fresh and engaging stories ranging from data collection, data storage, organization, retrieval, visualization and analysis. You don’t have to be a consummated or aspiring data scientist to enjoy this collection of elegant solutions presented by 39 of the best data practitioners today.
Beautiful data: the stories behind elegant data solutions. By Toby Segaran, Jeff Hammerbacher. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly, 2009. 1st edition.