Data Analysis: The Hard Parts by Milo Braun.
Milo has cautions about data tools that promise quick and easy data analysis:
- data analysis is so easy to get wrong
- it’s too easy to lie to yourself about it working
- it’s very hard to tell whether it could work if it doesn’t
- there is no free lunch
You will find yourself nodding along as you read Milo’s analysis.
I particularly liked:
So in essence, there is no way around properly learning data analysis skills. Just like you wouldn’t just give a blowtorch to anyone, you need proper training so that you know what you’re doing and produce robust and reliable results which deliver in the real-world. Unfortunately, this training is hard, as it requires familiarity with at least linear algebra and concepts of statistics and probability theory, stuff which classical coders are not that well trained in.
I agree on the blowtorch question but then I am not in corporate management.
The corporate management answer is yes, just about anyone can have a data blowtorch. “Who is more likely to provide a desired answer?,” is the management question for blowtorch assignments.
I recommend Milo’s post and the resources he points to in order for you to become a competent data scientist.
Competence may give you an advantage in a blowtorch war.
I first saw this in a tweet by Peter Skomoroch.