Awitty,exhilaratingandmind-expandingexplorationofthewordofourtimes-data-withmathematicianDrHannahFry.FollowinginthefootstepsofBBCFour'spreviousgleefullynerdy,award-winningmathsfilmsTheJoyofStats,TailsyouWin-TheScienceofChanceandTheJoyofLogic,thisnewhigh-techromprevealsexactlywhatdataisandhowitiscaptured,stored,sharedandmadesenseof.Fryalsotellsthestoryoftheengineersofthedataage,peoplemostofushaveneverheardofdespitethefacttheybroughtaboutatechnologicalandphilosophicalrevolution.
ForHannahFry,thejoyofdataisallaboutspottingpatterns.She'sLecturerintheMathematicsofCitiesatUCLaswellasbeingthepresenteroftheBBCseriesTrainspottingLiveandCityintheSky,andsheseesdataastheessentialbridgebetweentwouniverses-thetangible,noisy,messyworldthatweseeandexperience,andtheclean,ordered,elegantworldofmaths,whereeverythingcanbecapturedbeautifullywithequations.
AlongthewaythefilmrevealstheconnectionbetweenScrabblescoresandonlinemoviestreaming,explainswhyaherdofWiltshiredairycowsarewearingpedometers,anduncoverstheremarkablenetworkmapofWikipedia.What'sthemysterylinkbetween'marmalade'and'OneDirection'?
TheJoyofDataalsohailsthegiantcontributionofClaudeShannon,theAmericanmathematicianandelectricalengineerwho,inanattempttosolvetheproblemofnoisytelephonelines,devisedawaytodigitiseallinformation.ItwasShannon,fatherofthe'bit',whosinglehandedlylaunchedthe'informationage'.Meanwhile,thegreenlawnsofBritain'sNationalPhysicalLaboratoryhostaracebetweenitsyoungapprenticesinordertodemonstratehowandwhydatamovesquicklyandsuccessfullyaroundmoderndatanetworks.It'sallthankstothebrillianttechniquefirstinventedthereinthe1960sbyWelshmanDonaldDavies-packetswitching-withoutwhichtherewouldbenointernetasweknowit.
Butwhatofthefuture,bigdataandartificialintelligence?Shouldwebeworriedbythepaceofchange,andwhatourowndatacouldandshouldbeusedfor?Ultimately,Fryconcludes,datahasempoweredallofus.Wemusthavemachinesatoursideifwe'retofindpatternsinthemodern-daydatadeluge.But,Frybelieves,regardlessofAIandmachinelearning,itwillalwaystakeustofindthemeaninginthem.
