Big Data

Is the Brexit vote successful big data politics or the end of democracy? Why do airlines overbook, and why do banks get it wrong so often? How does big data enable Netflix to forecast a hit, CERN to find the Higgs boson and medics to discover if red wine really is good for you? And how are companies using big data to benefit from smart meters, use advertising that spies on you and develop the gig economy, where workers are managed by the whim of an algorithm? The volumes of data we now access can give unparalleled abilities to make predictions, respond to customer demand and solve problems. But Big Brother's shadow hovers over it. Though big data can set us free and enhance our lives, it has the potential to create an underclass and a totalitarian state. With big data ever-present, you can't afford to ignore it. Acclaimed science writer Brian Clegg - a habitual early adopter of new technology (and the owner of the second-ever copy of Windows in the UK) - brings big data to life.

Is the Brexit vote successful big data politics or the end of democracy? Why do airlines overbook, and why do banks get it wrong so often? How does big data enable Netflix to forecast a hit, CERN to find the Higgs boson and medics to discover if red wine really is good for you? And how are companies using big data to benefit from smart meters, use advertising that spies on you and develop the gig economy, where workers are managed by the whim of an algorithm? The volumes of data we now access can give unparalleled abilities to make predictions, respond to customer demand and solve problems. But Big Brother's shadow hovers over it. Though big data can set us free and enhance our lives, it has the potential to create an underclass and a totalitarian state. With big data ever-present, you can't afford to ignore it. Acclaimed science writer Brian Clegg - a habitual early adopter of new technology (and the owner of the second-ever copy of Windows in the UK) - brings big data to life.

New and expanded edition. An International Bestseller - Over One Million Copies Sold! Shortlisted for the Financial Times /Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. Since Aristotle, we have fought to understand the causes behind everything. But this ideology is fading. In the age of big data, we can crunch an incomprehensible amount of information, providing us with invaluable insights about the what rather than the why . We're just starting to reap the benefits: tracking vital signs to foresee deadly infections, predicting building fires, anticipating the best moment to buy a plane ticket, seeing inflation in real time and monitoring social media in order to identify trends. But there is a dark side to big data. Will it be machines, rather than people, that make the decisions? How do you regulate an algorithm? What will happen to privacy? Will individuals be punished for acts they have yet to commit? In this groundbreaking and fascinating book, two of the world's most-respected data experts reveal the reality of a big data world and outline clear and actionable steps that will equip the reader with the tools needed for this next phase of human evolution.

New and expanded edition. An International Bestseller - Over One Million Copies Sold! Shortlisted for the Financial Times /Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. Since Aristotle, we have fought to understand the causes behind everything. But this ideology is fading. In the age of big data, we can crunch an incomprehensible amount of information, providing us with invaluable insights about the what rather than the why . We're just starting to reap the benefits: tracking vital signs to foresee deadly infections, predicting building fires, anticipating the best moment to buy a plane ticket, seeing inflation in real time and monitoring social media in order to identify trends. But there is a dark side to big data. Will it be machines, rather than people, that make the decisions? How do you regulate an algorithm? What will happen to privacy? Will individuals be punished for acts they have yet to commit? In this groundbreaking and fascinating book, two of the world's most-respected data experts reveal the reality of a big data world and outline clear and actionable steps that will equip the reader with the tools needed for this next phase of human evolution.

Financial Times Business Book of the Year Finalist "Illuminating and very timely . . . a fascinating -- and sometimes alarming -- survey of big data's growing effect on just about everything: business, government, science and medicine, privacy, and even on the way we think." -- New York Times It seems like "big data" is in the news every day, as we read the latest examples of how powerful algorithms are teasing out the hidden connections between seemingly unrelated things. Whether it is used by the NSA to fight terrorism or by online retailers to predict customers' buying patterns, big data is a revolution occurring around us, in the process of forever changing economics, science, culture, and the very way we think. But it also poses new threats, from the end of privacy as we know it to the prospect of being penalized for things we haven't even done yet, based on big data's ability to predict our future behavior. What we have already seen is just the tip of the iceberg. Big Data is the first major book about this earthshaking subject, with two leading experts explaining what big data is, how it will change our lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards. "An optimistic and practical look at the Big Data revolution -- just the thing to get your head around the big changes already underway and the bigger changes to come." --Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com

Financial Times Business Book of the Year Finalist "Illuminating and very timely . . . a fascinating -- and sometimes alarming -- survey of big data's growing effect on just about everything: business, government, science and medicine, privacy, and even on the way we think." -- New York Times It seems like "big data" is in the news every day, as we read the latest examples of how powerful algorithms are teasing out the hidden connections between seemingly unrelated things. Whether it is used by the NSA to fight terrorism or by online retailers to predict customers' buying patterns, big data is a revolution occurring around us, in the process of forever changing economics, science, culture, and the very way we think. But it also poses new threats, from the end of privacy as we know it to the prospect of being penalized for things we haven't even done yet, based on big data's ability to predict our future behavior. What we have already seen is just the tip of the iceberg. Big Data is the first major book about this earthshaking subject, with two leading experts explaining what big data is, how it will change our lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards. "An optimistic and practical look at the Big Data revolution -- just the thing to get your head around the big changes already underway and the bigger changes to come." --Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com

As today’s organizations are capturing exponentially larger amounts of data than ever, now is the time for organizations to rethink how they digest that data. Through advanced algorithms and analytics techniques, organizations can harness this data, discover hidden patterns, and use the newly acquired knowledge to achieve competitive advantages. Presenting the contributions of leading experts in their respective fields, Big Data: Algorithms, Analytics, and Applications bridges the gap between the vastness of Big Data and the appropriate computational methods for scientific and social discovery. It covers fundamental issues about Big Data, including efficient algorithmic methods to process data, better analytical strategies to digest data, and representative applications in diverse fields, such as medicine, science, and engineering. The book is organized into five main sections: Big Data Management —considers the research issues related to the management of Big Data, including indexing and scalability aspects Big Data Processing —addresses the problem of processing Big Data across a wide range of resource-intensive computational settings Big Data Stream Techniques and Algorithms —explores research issues regarding the management and mining of Big Data in streaming environments Big Data Privacy— focuses on models, techniques, and algorithms for preserving Big Data privacy Big Data Applications —illustrates practical applications of Big Data across several domains, including finance, multimedia tools, biometrics, and satellite Big Data processing Overall, the book reports on state-of-the-art studies and achievements in algorithms, analytics, and applications of Big Data. It provides readers with the basis for further efforts in this challenging scientific field that will play a leading role in next-generation database, data warehousing, data mining, and cloud computing research. It also explores related applications in diverse sectors, covering technologies for media/data communication, elastic media/data storage, cross-network media/data fusion, and SaaS.