Posts from 2017-12

Data science in ancient Greece

Data science is usually considered a very recent invention, made possible by electronic computing and communication technologies. Some consider it the fourth paradigm of science, suggesting that it came after three other paradigms, though the whole idea of distinct paradigms remains controversial. What I want to point out in this post is that the principles of data science are much older than most of today's practitioners imagine. Let me introduce you to Apollonius, Hipparchus, and Ptolemy, who applied these principles about 2000 years ago.

Tags: computational science, computer-aided research, emacs, mmtk, mobile computing, programming, proteins, python, rants, reproducible research, science, scientific computing, scientific software, social networks, software, source code repositories, sustainable software

By month: 2023-11, 2023-10, 2022-08, 2021-06, 2021-01, 2020-12, 2020-11, 2020-07, 2020-05, 2020-04, 2020-02, 2019-12, 2019-11, 2019-10, 2019-05, 2019-04, 2019-02, 2018-12, 2018-10, 2018-07, 2018-05, 2018-04, 2018-03, 2017-12, 2017-11, 2017-09, 2017-05, 2017-04, 2017-01, 2016-05, 2016-03, 2016-01, 2015-12, 2015-11, 2015-09, 2015-07, 2015-06, 2015-04, 2015-01, 2014-12, 2014-09, 2014-08, 2014-07, 2014-05, 2014-01, 2013-11, 2013-09, 2013-08, 2013-06, 2013-05, 2013-04, 2012-11, 2012-09, 2012-05, 2012-04, 2012-03, 2012-02, 2011-11, 2011-08, 2011-06, 2011-05, 2011-01, 2010-07, 2010-01, 2009-09, 2009-08, 2009-06, 2009-05, 2009-04