Bipolar views about analytics are not unheard of! While some find data and business analytics interesting or intriguing, others may think that it is the stuff for serious geeks, data enthusiasts, and analytics junkies. To bust this myth, we bring to you 5 cherry-picked Ted Talks that will take you from fear to fun, boring to interesting, and disillusionment to enlightenment about data and analytics.
- The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen | Hans Rosling – You would think that statistics, even the best stats you’ve ever seen would be rather a dry watch but Hans Rosling’s dramatic take on the myths of the so-called developing world will surprise you. A must watch Ted talk for not just Janta interested in analytics or data science. This one is for the masses and the classes! Link to the video.
- The Math Behind Basketball’s wildest moves | Rajiv Maheswaran – Basketball as a sport will now be explored as science that could be used to explain how humans move everywhere, in general. This scintillating video reveals insights from captured moments on the court. Basketball is all about contact, improvisations, spatiotemporal patterns and God speed! See how Rajeev Maheswaram and his team aid players and coaches to combine intuition and data for results. Watch the video here.
- How I Hacked Online Dating | Amy Webb – Do you believe serendipity needs to strike at the opportune moment to find love or can an algorithm help you find it anyway?? If so, is there an online portal that puts your message out perfectly? Find out along with Amy Webb as she shares her quest to find her right match by using the data available on online dating sites. This one is the Kohinoor on what to expect from online dating! Link to the video.
- The Beauty of Data Visualization | David McCandless – David McCandless breaks down complex problems into simply put beautiful diagrams. He insists on good design practices and how they can reveal hidden patterns easily without being over-the-top. He speaks with so much passion that you would end up pursuing analytics or data science if you haven’t already! Video link.
- How We Can Find Ourselves in Data | Giorgia Lupi – Numbers are objective and factual but Giorgia Lupi humanizes data by using it in human stories. She explores the nuances of the human psyche with numbers. This one is a classic for the introspection and retrospection segment. Laced with insights one can draw from humdrum activities, Lupi states how data is just a tool to represent reality! Watch the video.