Embrace the outliers: Abandoning certainty will unlock the creative qualities of big data

This article argues that the term 'big data' reinforces the creativity-hindering idea that more data can give us more certainty.

Embrace the outliers: Abandoning certainty will unlock the creative qualities of big data

Ben EssenIRIS

The term 'Big Data' implies scale, objectivity and quantification – and in doing so reinforces the creativity-hindering idea that more data can give us more certainty. But these new channels of data also give us variety, bias and qualification. Embracing the outliers and the data that make us uncomfortable will help us ask the questions that unlock true creative innovation.

The Admap Prize 2015 This essay was the Gold Award winner of The Admap Prize 2015.For more information visit the...

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