What is Data Science?

This is a book about doing data science with Python, which immediately begs the question: what is data science? It’s a surprisingly hard definition to nail down, especially given how ubiquitous the term has become. Vocal critics have variously dismissed the term as a superfluous label (after all, what science doesn’t involve data?) or a simple buzzword that only exists to salt résumés and catch the eye of overzealous tech recruiters. In my mind, these critiques miss something important. Data science, despite its hypeladen veneer, is perhaps the best label we have for the cross-disciplinary set of skills that are becoming increasingly important in many applications across industry and academia. This cross-disciplinary piece is key: in my mind, the best existing definition of data science is illustrated by Drew Conway’s Data Science Venn Diagram, first published on his blog in September 2010 (see Figure P-1).

Figure P-1. Drew Conway’s Data Science Venn Diagram

While some of the intersection labels are a bit tongue-in-cheek, this diagram captures the essence of what I think people mean when they say “data science”: it is fundamentally an interdisciplinary subject. Data science comprises three distinct and overlapping areas: the skills of a statistician who knows how to model and summarize datasets (which are growing ever larger); the skills of a computer scientist who can design and use algorithms to efficiently store, process, and visualize this data; and the domain expertise—what we might think of as “classical” training in a subject—necessary both to formulate the right questions and to put their answers in context.

With this in mind, I would encourage you to think of data science not as a new domain of knowledge to learn, but as a new set of skills that you can apply within your current area of expertise. Whether you are reporting election results, forecasting stock returns, optimizing online ad clicks, identifying microorganisms in microscope photos, seeking new classes of astronomical objects, or working with data in any other field, the goal of this book is to give you the ability to ask and answer new questions about your chosen subject area.

Good luck in your studies!

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