Four short links: 3 January 2019
Raw Data, Learning Text Adventures, Algorithms Textbook, and Physical Computing
- Why Data is Never Raw — In scientific research, the choice of what to measure and how is fundamental. But in many cases, especially in the social sciences, what we want to capture doesn’t already have a clear measurement. It must therefore be “operationalized” somehow—meaning we must create a technique for measuring it. This necessarily requires emphasizing some aspects over others. Just as thought involves focusing, data collection involves narrowing attention; something is always left out.
- Jericho — Microsoft’s open source environment that connects learning agents with interactive fiction games. Using the fabulous Frotz, of course.
- Algorithms — new textbook from UIUC professor Jeff Erickson.
- The Digital Revolution Isn’t Over, But Has Turned Into Something Else (George Dyson) — The digital revolution began when stored-program computers broke the distinction between numbers that mean things and numbers that do things. Numbers that do things now rule the world. But who rules over the machines? (via BoingBoing)
