Data Artists

If the world were clear, art would not exist. – Albert Camus

There’s an interesting thought piece by John Koetsier over on VentureBeat, a rumination on the emerging “data scientist” profession.

Koetsier has an intriguing take on this trend. Citing Bill Franks, author of Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave, he suggests a new term “data artists.”

“Perhaps a better term would be “data artists,” befitting the artfulness that goes into interpreting and illustrating big datasets. Perhaps these scientists are not the Einsteins and Edisons but the Van Goghs and Picassos of the big data revolution.”

Perhaps the term “data artist” is too flippant for you. Or maybe you love it and will order new business cards tomorrow.

Regardless of whether you start using it in your daily life, I suggest the term “data artist” captures an important concept relevant to the new world of big data. There are no rules, and therefore the most successful practitioners will be those who have strokes of creative genius in combination with technical know-how and scientific discipline.