Big Data is a thought-provoking, insightful, with-the-times book authored by Victor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier. We live in the time where an increasing amount of data or sheer information is available to anyone at any given time. All you have to do is ask. The age old quest of mankind has been to know the reason behind everything, to wonder at the cause. In this world of incomprehensible amount of information and digitalized information at that, we have at our fingertips an invaluable insight into the ‘what' of things, rather than the ‘why'.
In Big Data, the authors talk about the changes being brought on by this inundation by information. We are now beginning to reap the benefits of this era, being able to track vital signs to predict and therefore forestall a major infection, predicting building fires, anticipating the best moment to make a purchase, or following social media to catch up with trends.
But like every other era, this one has a dark side too. The authors wonder aloud in Big Data if it will be machines rather than men who will be making major decisions in the near future. Will people be punished for crimes that they haven't committed on the presumption that they will? What will happen to individual privacy?
In this groundbreaking and fascinating book, the world's top data experts talk about the reality of living in the Big Data world and also outline clear steps to equip the reader with tools that will help him/her navigate through this very world.
The book was published on 15 January 2013 in hardcover and is available in paperback.
Key Features
New York Times bestseller.
Listed for the Financial times/Goldman Sachs Business book of the year award.